Roadtrip
by TheGamesICause
Summary: In a desperate attempt to cheer Sam up about his sudden break-up with Dakota, six of his close friends decide to take him to the one place that makes him happy to cheer him up. An Amusement Park...in Ohio, which wouldn't be bad if they didn't live in Delaware. So, the six friends, plus three other people who want to be in their group, and two others who just don't care, go to Ohio
1. Plans For Six?

**A\N Hey there! ^.^ So I've tried doing OC stories before, but they just kinda failed and died, so I'm trying an actual chapter story with the characters we all know and love...kinda :D**

**Total Drama Revenge of the Island never happened, but they are all familiar with each other.**

**So this is a high school, "finding ourselves" story which takes place over the course of forty-eight hours :) They are all eighteen, and they live in Delaware ^-^ Strange, huh? :P**

**Sounds interesting, right?**

**Well then, lets begin, shall we? ^.^**

**Jo POV**

"Jo, please just come with me," I rolled my eyes as Brick once again asked me to go cheer up his weak friend with him. It wasn't my fault the guy was overweight and nerdy! I don't know how he got into God's good graces to get a girl in the first place, but it didn't surprise anyone when she got out as fast as she could.

"No way," I snapped, turning my nose up at his plea, "The guy annoys me, why would I go to cheer him up?" Brick frowned at this statement of mine. He puffed out his chest, straightened his stance and furrowed his brows together. I sighed, knowing what this meant and I waited for it to come.

"It's you duty, ma'am, as a friend to him!" Brick barked at me. I sighed again, feeling exasperated.

"I said no, Brickhouse, I'm not going,"

"Then I have no choice but to force you. I'm sorry Jo," He immediately picked me up and threw me over his shoulders and began to depart from the classroom, taking both his and my belongings with us.

"Dammit Brick, let me go!" I yelled, furiously hitting his back.

"No ma'am, our friend Sam is in grief! It is our duty to comfort him!" Brick answered.

"When did you get so freaking strong?" I groaned, giving up on my great escape. I could imagine Brick grinning at the slight compliment I gave him.

"Maybe you've just gotten weak,"

"BRICK!"

**Brick POV**

I usually wasn't this cruel to Jo. After all, she has been my best friend for seven years and rival for eleven. I knew Jo inside out, forwards, backwards and even diagonal. I had felt bad about teasing her, but with all of her names for me, I think I kind of owed it to myself. Even if cadets didn't always get to tease other rather than protect them.

"We're here, Jo," I announced broadly, gently letting her depart from my shoulders. She leapt off of me and faced me, her face contorted into an unreadable expression of anger and well...actually it was just anger.

Somehow though, I felt myself strangely attracted to how her violet eyes narrowed at me, but her face stayed completely beautiful to me.

No, no, no, no, no, Brick! This was Jo, stay with it!

"Don't expect me to be nice to him or say I'm sorry," She growled, crossing her arms. I smiled at her and made my way to Sam's house.

"Well then, you just wouldn't be Jo, would you?" I questioned her, as she swiftly made her way to me. We walked in step as she contemplated this. A light smile finally graced her face and I grinned.

"I guess not, General," She replied, mock saluting me. I smiled wider and knocked politely on Sam's door. Sam's house was all white, an all American feel, actually, and it was basically his as his parents were never around, he practically owned the place. I went to knock again, and Jo sighed impatiently. "Move out of the way, maggot," She ordered. I did as told and she rapped loudly onto the door, simultaneously shouting, "GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

"That was a bit excessive, don't you think?" I asked, just as Sam opened the door a crack.

"J-Jo?" He peeked out from the door and noticed me standing next to her, and the door opened completely. "Oh good, Hi Brick," He smiled weakly at my presence and I felt bad for the poor guy. Jo, however, was the polar opposite and was leaning against his wall next to the door, looking about his neighborhood quite lazily.

"Hi soldier," I greeted, giving him a sympathetic look, "How are you feeling?" Sam sighed, his gaze going downcast.

"Not great, I mean, I loved her you know? And she loved me too," Sam cried, tears over-coming him. Jo snickered at his last statement and I shot her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and went back to her previous position. I put a comforting arm around Sam's shoulder.

"Jo and I are here for you, buddy," He nodded and led us upstairs to his room. Before he disappeared completely, I asked him for one moment alone with Jo.

"Yeah that's fine...I'll be in here..." He slowly walked into his room, closing the door gently behind him.

"Jo, Sam's in a lot of pain! We have to be kind and patient with him," I said, turning back to her. She rolled her violet eyes.

"No way, he's a video-game playing geek who managed to get a hot girlfriend and lost her. Boo hoo, I'm sorry for your loss," Jo replied, snapping a bit, "It's not my fault the girl came to her senses and realized what a dork he was!" For a moment, a snappy retort was on my tongue but as I watched Jo, I knew it wa something much deeper than the nerd factor that was bothering her, but I dared not to repeat my thoughts to her. Instead, I sighed deeply and opened the door for her and she walked in.

Jo was just jealous because she had never had a boyfriend before.

I knew it was the case. She hated couples, and she especially hated my short-lived girlfriends. And weirdly enough, I was strangely happy when she was jealous.

But only because I knew she liked being my friend!

Not because I like her or anything! That'd just be weird.

As I entered Sam's room, I closed the door and stepped in. The room itself would be quite spacious if it wasn't for all the comic books, gaming devices, movie posters, and live sized cut-outs of several super-heroes. I could see visibly out of the corner of my eye, Jo trying to keep from laughing at the room, which made me smile.

Among Sam, Jo, and I, Sam had a couple of other friends over, sitting on his bed and on the floor with him, showering him with praise and comfort.

The first, and closest to him on the bed was Dawn. She was reading him his aura, saying it was more of a deep blue color, meaning sad, but full of possibilities.

"Don't worry, Sam," Dawn soothed in her high soprano, "Your aura will eventually lighten, I'm sure of it," Sam offered her a weak smile in return. Dawn sighed unhappily as she was unsuccessful.

"Good try, Dawn," I cheered, trying to encourage her. She looked at me before almost floating over and smiled brightly.

"You're right, Brick! I need to turn my aura into a bright purple for Sam!" She declared.

"Purple?" Jo questioned, cocking an eyebrow. She walked over to us, her arms crossed, and looked at Dawn expectantly.

"Oh yes, purple stands for wisdom, and I think that would be good for Sam!"

"Aww, come on, Sam! You don't need her, I'm sure you'll find another great girl who will love you!" Zoey cried, her voice coated thickly with encouragement. Mike, faithfully by his best friend's side, smiled agreeingly with her. Jo and I directed our attention to where Zoey was, and it didn't look like Sam would feel better by her enthusiastic words.

"Totally, Sam! Beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, nice girls are everywhere," Mike trailed, staring into Zoey's eyes. She blushed ferociously as we were all certain he wasn't cheering up Sam anymore. Sam scratched his head awkwardly and gave them a small smile.

"Uh yeah, thanks guys," They both leapt off the bed and headed to our small group. Jo rolled her eyes at their presence.

"Yay, Miss Perfect and Mr. Personality are here!" She exclaimed sarcastically. As they tried to sort through their names and trying not to murder Jo, she leaned over to me and whispered, "I'm surprised they didn't jump each other right there!" I chuckled a bit, and Jo grinned.

"Oh Brick, it seems hopeless!" Zoey cried suddenly, looking worriedly between Sam and me.

"Sam's a strong cadet, I'm sure he'll be better soon!" I declared with a set look.

"Not to burst your bubble, G.I. Joke," Jo started, putting a hand on my shoulder, "But this isn't military training, Sam's not gonna go through training and come out a new man. He's weak and he'll probably cry himself to sleep every night," Though slightly offended by the name she had grown oh-so-accostomed to call me, I knew she had a point, but I didn't say anything, I was too confused on why my shoulder had burned on the exact place she touched it. It wasn't unpleasant, it was nice.

And that was the confusing part.

B slowly walked over to us and Dawn was quickly by his side, nodding continuously.

"B says he couldn't make Sam happy either, but he suggests that we should take him somewhere that will really make him happy," Dawn said, patting B encouragingly on his shoulder. A light pink creeped upon his cheeks, but Jo, Dawn, Mike, and Zoey were too preoccupied with the pondering of this idea to notice.

"That sounds great, B," I said approvingly. B smiled in return and gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm not going to a Star Wars convention, or a video game store," Jo snapped.

"If it is what makes him happy, then yes you are, sorry ma'am," I settled. Jo scowled as B and Dawn were "talking" again.

"B proposes we ask Sam what truly makes him happy," Dawn smiled. Jo rolled her eyes, but we all jumped for the idea and made our way back to Sam's bed where he lay emotionless now.

"Dakota was the only one who loved me!" He moaned to us, his eyes filling with tears again. I instantly felt completely terrible and I put a comforting hand on his slumped shoulder.

"It's okay, soldier, we'll get you through this," I soothed as best I could.

"Sam, we were wondering what is the one thing that makes you truly happy. I mean we really want to see you happy again, so we'll take you where ever that is, just to see you smile," Dawn explained with a soft smile. Sam pondered this for a few minutes as all of us tried to think of the possibilities he could choose.

"Well, when I was ten, my Dad took me to this really awesome place," Sam began, his eyes lighting up, "But you guys wouldn't take me there...I mean, its pretty far away, and you'd never get permission..." He trailed, his eyes going downcast again.

"Jeez, we're all eighteen, school's out in three days and you just got dumped, who cares what are parents think? Just tell us where and we'll take you," Jo snapped, speaking for all of us. We all nodded in agreement to what she said and I smiled at her.

"Well...okay, he took me to Cedar Point," He smiles, obviously remembering this fun time, "It's an Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. It was so much fun, but it's too far," Sam said.

"My parents would _love_ to see me go _anywhere_ with a whole bunch of my friends," Zoey piped up, "They wouldn't mind, as long as I checked in every hour," Mike nodded in agreement, which was really starting to annoy me.

How much more in love could they be?

"Yeah, my Mom wouldn't care as long as I told her it would help me with my MPD," Mike supplied. We all nodded, knowing perfectly well about his disorder. We didn't care, we just liked Mike for all that he was, our friend.

"My father encourages me to spend time with human friends instead of animals," Dawn chuckles, while stroking an ant in her hand, "B's grandmother is too crazy to know what goes on in his life, so he's okay, too," That left Jo and I...and we both knew our parent situations weren't good.

Though Jo and I were close, Jo never really got into her personal life with me that often. All I knew was that her father ran off with another woman when Jo was eleven, and her mother had been depressed since then.

"Jo's parents want her out of the gym whenever possible," I stated, and they all chuckled a bit. Jo shot me a grateful look and I pondered how exactly I was to explain my situation.

My father died while serving our country when I was thirteen, but my mother had died in a car accident when I was four. Before my father left to fight, he left me in the care of my Aunt, but she died not long after of lung cancero it was decided by a county judge I would live with Jo, since she was really the only family I had, but no one needed to know that besides us.

"Brick's Uncle John just likes to know that he thinks about something else than the military," Jo retorted with a playful smile. I mouthed her a thank you and she smiled.

I did think about more than just the military...I thought about Jo, a lot.

"Well, it's decided then!" Zoey cheered, "We'll go to Cedar Point to cheer Sam up! Then he'll forget about Dakota!" Sam's face dropped dramatically and it contorts into one of pure sadness.

"Oh, Dakota!" He cried, tears streaming down his face again.

"We have to go," I said, looking sympathetically at a bawling Sam.

"Like, now," Jo concluded.

**A\N So I hope you all liked this! ^-^ No, their parents probably wouldn't have let them do this, but it's a fictional story, so just enjoy! :D**

**So please review and tell me what you think! :)**

**Thanks, and see ya later! ^-^**


	2. Let's Add Five More, Shall we?

**A\N Hey there! ^-^ Yay, I received so many reviews! I don't think ya'll know how happy that makes me!**

**Also, I like to answer my reviewer's reviews up top, and I answer them all, so yeah ^-^**

**So to NTA FANATIC, Haha, Mike and Zoey _do _need to kiss, don't they? XD Thank you, I like the story line as well, let's just see where it goes, shall we? :)**

**And to Spliced-up-Angel, Thank you! ^-^ I was real nervous that they _weren't _in character, so I'm glad you thought they were! :) Also, may I just say, I about squealed when I saw your picture because I love me some Kurt Cobain, annndddd Nirvana is the best band ever and my favorite! :D**

**Also to Aradomperson, Awwe, thanks! I don't think any of my stories have been called epic! :') Thank you, I really tried to portray every character well, and I think Jo and Brick _would _cover each other if the time called for it! ^.^ You'll see why Dakota did it, then maybe you won't hate her as much! XD**

**And to SomeDude, Haha, I've always liked Delaware, probably because of a corny joke my dad always used to tell me about it! XD Nawws, thanks! I really like mostly all the characters in TDROTI, so I like writing this a lot! Yeah, there's gonna be a LOT of romance in this, but a few characters won't be paired up :( Thank you! **

**Finally to CreepySheepy, Cool, I've always wanted to visit Massachusetts xD And I know, I love Cedar Point! And I'm glad that your cousin dragged you there, too! Now you have witnessed the pure AWESOMENESS of it! :D**

**Okay, let's move on to a corny joke, okay?**

**Ahem. **

**Me- Hey all you people! What did Dela-ware? :D**

**People - I don't know mostly because I'll regret asking for the answer... :P**

**Me- A New-Jersey! Hahahahaha! XD (Dies from laughing so hard at her own lame joke)**

**People – Moron -.-**

**Ohh state jokes! Okay, here's the chapter! Enjoy, and see ya at the bottom :)**

**General POV**

As an annual ritual in her small apartment, Ann Maria, Cameron, and Staci were all gathered on cheap couches with one bag of chips to pass around and a soda to share.

"Uh, Ann Maria?" Cameron asked hesitantly. Ann Maria quit spraying her hairspray for a second and smiled at the much timid boy.

"Yea, short stuff?"

"Is this place sanitized...it seems dirtier than last time..." Ann Maria looked around and shot him a quizzical look.

"I ain't seein' what you're seein', this place looks gorgeous!" Ann Maria exclaimed proudly.

"My great great great great Uncle Stan first invented hand sanitizer," Staci stated proudly, sticking her head high in the air, "Before that everywhere was _so _dirty," Ann Maria rolled her eyes and leaned in to Cameron while Staci looked about the place finding more things that her 'relatives' invented.

"Tell me again why we let her in our group?" Ann Maria asked.

"Because she was lonely, besides, she lets us know what goes on with Brick's group," Cameron pointed out. Ann Maria sighed dreamily at the mention of the group.

"Ahhh, Brick's group," Ann Maria soon snapped out of it and turned defensive as Cameron was wathcing her, "What? Don't blame me that they always have fun and we're stuck here doin' absolutely nothin'!" Cameron sighed and shrugged.

"Sometimes we have fun," He trailed, trying to make the Jersey girl feel better. She shrugged and spritzed her hair again, surely killing it.

"Yea right, you know as well as I do, their group is betta," She spat, grabbing a handful of chips and shoving them forcefully in her mouth. Cameron nodded at her and sighed once again, his expression becoming one of depression.

"Yeah, I know..."

"My great great great great great Aunt Mildred invented groups, before that is was just a cluster of people," Staci said out of the blue.

"No one cares, Staci!" Ann Maria snapped.

"Hey Staci, do you know what Brick's group is doing right now?" Cameron asked, quickly changing the subject again. Staci nodded and picked up her phone.

"You know, my great great great great Aunt Jane invented the iphone," Cameron shook his head slowly as Staci scrolled through the school's new articles trying to find anything on the other, desired group.

"No, Steve Jobs did," Cameron explained. Staci paled for a second before quickly recovering.

"Well he's my great great great great Uncle,"

"But you said your great great great great _Aunt_ did,"

"Oh _here _it is!" Staci interrupted quickly, "Um, they're going to...Ohio..." Ann Maria perked up as well as Cameron.

"_Ohio_?" They chorused incredulously. Staci nodded.

"That's crazy!" Ann maria shouted. "Why?"

"They're trying to cheer up Sam..."

"Well then we gotta go!" Ann Maria declared, standing up. Cameron almost choked on their shared pop and he stood up as well.

"What? Ohio, right now? Why?" He asked. Ann Maria smiled broadly.

"'Cause short stuff, we wanna be part of their group, so we need to go where they go. 'Sides, I wanna show my Bricky that I will go anywhere that he goes," Ann Maria explained, sighing dreamily again. Cameron's face turned into one of confusion.

"But, I thought you liked Mike or Vito..." Cameron trailed. Ann Maria shrugged and started applying heavy mascara to her already thick lashes.

"Eh, that was in da past, sweetie, I like Brick now, and no way would he pass the opportunity to be with me for someone like Jo...she's a total man!" Ann Maria complained, rolling her eyes in utter annoyance.

"I like Jo...sure she's hard to get along with sometimes, but she does care," Cameron insisted to the Jersey native.

"Ugh, you know she _made _me throw a dodgeball in Gym just to win that stupid game?" Ann Maria gossiped. "You know, what? I don't care, we're going to Ohio so we can be in their group and Brick will love me!" Cameron tapped her shoulder, taking her away from her rather vivid daydream.

"There's just a slight problem..."

"What?" Ann Maria snapped, not wanting _anything _to ruin her vision.

"We're graduating in two days..." That stumped Ann Maria, which gave the opportunity for Staci to jump in.

"My great great great great great great Aunt Fran created graduation, yeah, before that people just stayed in the same grade and they didn't advance at all," Ann Maria rolled her eyes.

"Whateva, I'm goin' and you're comin' with me," Ann Maria growled.

"Yay! Roadtrip!" Staci cheered, before going on and on about how her great great great whatever invented them.

"You ready, short stuff? We gotta pack!"

**Brick POV**

"Jo, are you coming?" I called from the base of the staircase. We all left Sam's house twenty minutes prior to where I was at that moment. We all agreed to meet at his house at 4:00 and set out to Ohio immediately. I knew we would never make it to Ohio and back to Delaware in time for graduation, but the thought made him happy, so we would try just for him.

"Hold it, Sargeant!" Jo barked suddenly, tearing me away from my thoughts. I waited patiently until she stomped down the stairs in a very Jo-like manner. "Alright, I'm ready. She had a backpack hanging slack on her shoulder matching that of mine of my own shoulder.

"Great minds think alike, huh?" I grinned. She noticed my own bag and rolled her eyes.

"Eh, I had it first, meaning I'm better," She smirked. The cocked an eyebrow as she made her way all the way down.

"Is that so?" She questioned. I smiled at her and swiftly loomed over her, one advantage I had.

"Yep," I replied cockily.

Jo didn't answer as our faces were only centimeters apart from each other. Her nose was almost touching mine and her beautiful violet eyes were boring into mine. The faintest of pinks covered her cheeks and it made me unconditionally happy. She shrugged and scooted past me and I finally let out a breath I was unknowingly keeping in.

"Let's go Brick for Brains!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

**Jo POV**

Dammit, I hated those feelings that arose when I was around Brick for so long. Dammit, dammit, dammit!

Okay, so living with Brick when hormones kicked in wasn't such a great idea on the Judge's part. Yeah, I liked Brick, but it wasn't like I was _ever_ going to act on those stupid feelings, and there was no _way _that he would ever feel the same way.

Ugh, sometimes I hated being a chick.

After I won a thumb-wrestling war with Brick, won I was bound to win anyway, I drove us to Sam's house where our friends were waiting.

"Hey guys!" Zoey greeted excitedly.

"Hello, ma'am," Brick smiled, grabbing our bags and putting them into Sam's RV.

Remind me again on why anyone would want an RV?

"Hello everyone, please make your way over here, thank you!" Dawn announced, motioning all of us to go to where she was. We all did so and she smiled. "Hello, again. We shall all be riding in the same RV together," I rolled my eyes impatiently.

"Tell us something we don't know," I said. Dawn looked surprised before answering with:

"Oh Jo, I don't blame your anger. Right now you have a deep red aura, you can't help it," Dawn soothed sweetly. I rolled my eyes and waved my hand in the air.

"Just keep going,"

"Oh yes. B's grandmother generously gave us five thousand dollars for our trip," Dawn stated casually, patting B's shoulder. They was an altogether shock flow throughout our group. I almost choked on my own saliva.

"What?" We all cried incredulously. Dawn shrugged her small shoulders, letting her pale blonde hair spill over them.

"I told you earlier, she was crazy,"

"But five thousand dollars?" Mike questioned.

B shrugged and put his hands in the air.

"B's not sure why so much, but she just gave it to him and told him to have fun. So, our expenses will be paid for, we have our transportation, and Sam and Zoey graciously gathered some food for us, so we're okay to travel now! I do have to ask though, who has their driver's license among us? I don't because car's gas pollutes the air for the poor birds," Dawn explained looking as though she might cry, "They told me so,"

"I can't, my mom doesn't trust me with my MPD," Mike said sadly. Zoey put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile for reassurance and consolation.

"I can't either, Mike, don't worry, my mother says she'd rather she me walk for the time being because the last time I drove a car, I hit a tree," Zoey confessed sheepishly.

"B just never learned how to," Dawn supplied simply.

"Jo and I can," Brick said, smiling. They nodded approvingly.

"I can, but I'm just too depressed...I'd probably ram us all into a building..." Sam trailed, his voice low and weak. The air turned into an uncomfortable silence with a lot of tension. Soon, Mike laughed and said:

"Let's hit the road, shall we?"

**General POV**

"'Ey! 'EY!" Ann Maria screamed on the top her lungs, and her air capacity to the two biggest football players and biggest doucebags in their school. The taller boy turned around and scowled. Ann Maria marched over to him, her hairspray clutched tightly in her hand and a determined look plastered tightly onto her face.

"What do you want, Lightning's got graduation in a few days, he's the star of the show and he's not gonna let some Jersey Shore wanna-be ruin his mood!" Lightning raged on to the much small girl.

"_You _listen to me you douche! You're gonna take me and short stuff 'ere to Ohio, got it? I ain't playin' 'round. My love life is on the line, and I can't drive, Cameron's too scared to learn, and we _ain't _bringin' Staci even if the Great God Zeus _himself_ asked me to! I ain't doin' it!" Ann Maria rambled on to an overwhelmed Lightning.

"What makes you think Lightning's gonna do _anything _for you?" He asked, a bit of pink creeping up on his cheeks. Ann Maria rolled her eyes.

"'Cause I know you've had a crush on me since seventh grade! Look, I ain't dumb, I know that you just won't drop everythin' for me, but I'm askin' ya, as a friend," Ann Maria explained, looking truly sincere. Lightning pondered this and look about the faces of Scott, his closest friend, and Cameron who was peeking behind Ann Maria's ginormus hair.

"Don't do it, Lightning, come on, you can do so much better than this Jersey reject," Scott spat, rolling his eyes, "Besides, we all know that accent is fake as her tan,"

Suddenly, everything stopped. The air stopped moving, tress stopped swaying, birds stopped chirping, and in a few moment, Scott was going to stop breathing.

Ann Maria turned around and tackled Scott to the ground with a murderous look in her eyes. Her blood was boiling and her face was sure to match her furious emotion.

"I'mma tell ya right now, farma's boy," She seethed through clenched teeth, "I'm as real as it gets, and don't'cha _dare _act like ya know me! 'Cause ya don't! I was born and _raised_ in Jersey that it practically flows through my bloodstream. This tan is real, and I swear, if ya say anything like that again, not only will I take a vacum and suck your insides _out, _I will _personally _sneak into your house, grab you and kill you myself, got that?"

Scott looked stunned from where he was underneath the Jersey girl. Before he could react, she screamed a list of strewn-together profanities that Cameron's poor ears weren't ready to hear yet. She said things that didn't apply to Scott and things that weren't even _invented_ yet. After she was done, she got up off of Scott and walked over to Cameron who was quite visibly shaking.

"Sorry Cameron," He shook his head and offered her a weak smile.

"No, no, that's okay," She strutted back over to Lightning.

"So, will ya take me or not?" She questioned, applying another coat of hairspray. Lightning replayed their previous conversation and gave her a confused look.

"Lightning remembers you saying something about your love life being on the line...what does that mean?" Lightning asked, slightly jealous.

"Yea, Brick's group is headin' to Ohio, and I wanna go so that I can be part of his group and confess my feelin's for him," Ann Maria said casually, shrugging it off. Saying Lightning was hurt would be an understatement.

"Why would Lightning take you to another man, when he likes you?" Lightning asked.

"Sorry, Lightning, I like ya too, just not like that, please, for me?" Ann Maria pleaded. Lightning sighed before turning to Scott was was as far away from Ann Maria as possible.

"Lightning will only go if Scott will," He settled. All eyes were set on Scott and he shook his head vigorously.

"Oh no, I am _not _going to be stuck in a car with _her_ all day, besides, I don't even like Brick's group or anyone in it," Scott spat distastefully.

"That's a lie, everyone can see you like Dawn," Ann Maria pointed out.

"Y-yeah!" Cameron exclaimed, finally joining in. Scott's face turned a deep red as he fervently denied this fact.

"N-no way! I don't like her. Jeez, this is why Pappy said I'd do better if I home-schooled," Scott muttered. Lightning turned back to Ann Maria and smiled widely.

"Alright, Lightning will go with you, Cameron, and Scott," Lightning agreed.

"Don't forget about me, guys!" Staci called desperately, running towards them.

"Dammit," They all muttered.

**A\N Why yes, I am back ^-^ So I really hope ya'll liked this chapter! I usually don't update this soon, but I was really modivated and besides, I'm sick so I'm in bed all day anyways xD**

**Yes, there is gonna be tons of romance in this, so I do need to see what ya'll would like to see. Now, I already have a couple picked out.**

**Ahem, the obvious:**

**Brick and Jo**

**Sam and Dakota**

**Mike and Zoey**

**But, I need to know what you prefer...**

**Dawn and B**

**or**

**Dawn and Scott**

**I like both, so I don't care :P**

**Also, possible Ann Maria and Lightning? Only what you guys want though! I just put all the possibilities out there :) Crushes can just stay crushes!**

**Okay, that's all I needed to know! Please review and tell me what you think! Also, I open to ideas of any kind so don't be afraid to PM about some ^-^ I would love it, actually!**

**See ya real soon! ;)**


	3. Closest To My Heart

**A\N...HOLY MARY MOTHER OF SHNITZLES! :O TEN REVIEWS? IN ONE CHAPTER?**

**You guys make me so happy! :'D Thank you so much! All these reviews make me all happy and stuffly :D**

**So to Nta FANFIC 2, Haha, yeah actually, so do I xD Maybe I'll incorporate her family's names somewhere in the story! :) Dawn and Mike? Huh. I never thought about it :P And drugs...? Where did that come from? xD**

**And to CreepySheepy, Don't worry, sometimes I hate logging in as well x) I like Dawn and Scott as well, and THANK YOU! I hate Scott with a burning passion! Haha, and I'll take his pain into consideration :D**

**Also to 2CrzY4U, Hi and welcome! ^-^ Thank you, and haha, I'm a fan of Dott as well :)**

**And to randompandaattack, I also like Dawn and B so I'm torn :'( Also, no, Ann Maria is not the antagonist...it's more the situations they get in and how they all act towards each other because as the story goes on you'll see all sides of them :P**

**Continuing on to SomeDude, Haha, yeah x) Staci's ancestor's might as well have created the world! I'm definitely leaning towards B just because he's so sweet :) I like Dott, but I don't like Scott as a character so we'll just have to see! :D**

**Proceeding to malzi21, I know! I would be traumatized as well! :'( Yeah, you'll see the reasoning I have behind Ann Maria's love for Brick or so we think...Thank you! :D Yeah, I think Dawn and B are gonna happen, but we'll have to see x)**

**Also to Aradomperson, Nawws :3 Thank you! Yes, once again, you'll just have to see why for the whole Ann Maria and Brick situation. No, Cameron doesn't like Jo more than just a friend. He actually more admires her than anything, because she is kinda like someone he would like to be. I know, I love Dawn with either or them, so we'll just have to see...Haha, I've actually grown to like Lightning and Ann Maria so I think they might be something as well! x) Aww, once again, just thanks! And we'll just have to see about Dakota...**

**And to Princess Rosalinda, Thank you! And yes, you'll see why Ann Maria likes him. And dxon't worry, there will be plenty of time for Brick and Jo :)**

**Also to Smiles1998, Hi, and welcome! Okay, well that's good! ^.^ I'm neutral as well between Dawn and Scott and Dawn and B! And thank you so much!**

**Finally to SkullsandRoses, Aww, thank you! ^-^ Same, I love the new characters, so hopefully they will get more love than they receive right now! x) Haha, I love Brick and Jo as well, and I literally stopped watching because Brick left...**

**Okay, so there has been a debate between B and Dawn or Dawn and Scott. Now while I like both, there had to be a verdict...**

**Dawn and B! ^-^ **

**Okay, now onto the story! :D**

**General POV**

_Sandusky, Ohio? Eh, I'd neva heard of the place, but Cameron said that's where they're headin', so we gotta go, right? _Ann Maria thought as they got into the car. She sat in the passenger seat as Scott took the driver's side. Lightning sat behind Ann Maria, Staci was in the middle, and Cameron was squished against the side.

Ann Maria sighed, leaning her head against the passenger window as Scott began driving' his run-down, beat up pick-up truck.

"Lightning still says we use his new car!" Lightning complained from the backseat. Scott rolled his eyes and started driving them out of town.

"Pappy says this car can get you anywhere, so we're taking it," Scott snapped.

"Ugh, this thing smells moldy," Ann Maria complained, waving my hand in front of my nose, trying to wave away the stench. Scott scowled as she rolled down my window, letting in the cool air.

"It's better than your hairspray, sweetie," Scott hissed at her.

"You neva learn your lesson, do ya?" She questioned, pulling out said hairspray. Rather than spraying it in her so called, "glorious hair", she sprayed it all around the car to rid the smell of it. Scott coughed and hacked from the smell, and lost control for a moment, before easing the, back on the road. "Jeez, ya need to learn how ta drive," She criticized, not knowing she caused this minor fiasco.

"You know, my great great great great great Uncle Vixon invented the first road. Yeah, before that, people just walked in fields," Staci announced proudly. Ann Maria rolled my eyes.

"Yea, that's great," She yawned.

"Lightning wants to know what's so great about Brick that you have to go see him," Lightning growled suddenly from his seat behind Scott. Ann Maria immediately felt a pang of guilt in her chest but she brushed it off.

"You were da one who bullied me! Brick defended me from you! He's so sweet, and then there's _you_," She spat, the distaste clear on her tongue. Lightning looked offended for a minute before he turned angry again. Cameron sunk low in his seat and Ann Maria didn't blame him. She was about to go all Jersey on that jerk!

"Lightning never bullied you!" He protested, his face completely red.

"Yea you did, before I was hot!" Ann Maria screamed back, turning all the way around in her seat to face him head on.

"My great great great great Aunt Vodda invented hot, before then, everyone was cold all the time," Staci chirped.

"Your Aunt couldn't have made up temperature, Staci!" Ann Maria yelled at her. Staci yelped and shrunk in her seat and whimpered a bit. Scott rolled his eyes.

"You need to calm down. No wonder Lightning made fun of you," Scott muttered.

"Lightning never bullied her!"

"YES YOU DID!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO! Why else would I like Brick? He saved me from you, you jerk!" Ann Maria growled. She whipped around back in her seat.

"Then why would you ask Lightning to take you in the first place? He's got better things to do!" Lightning raged, blowing up. The car fell silent as Ann Maria refused to fess up the real reason, and instead work on her already "beautiful" eyes for the rest of the trip.

**Brick POV**

"Ma'am, I insist I drive for this trip first," I stated to Jo. She rolled her eyes while everyone else was packing their belongings into the RV.

"No way, Brick for Brains, I'm driving first. I'm a faster driver so if I drive during the day, we can get there faster," Jo said, crossing her arms over her chest. I knew what that movement meant. Jo was serious about this and she was doing it whether the God himself said no to her. I sighed, knowing I wouldn't win this argument and stuck my hand out.

"Alright, fine, but I'm driving during the nighttime. At least then you'll be quiet," I joked. She grinned at her victory and grabbed my hand forcefully. We shook for less time than I wanted to, and we let our hands go.

Why did I like how Jo's hand felt in mine? It was natural, and it definitely didn't freak me out. It felt, nice, almost...

"Hey! Come on! With you day dreaming, we're never going to get there!" Jo barked, already in her driver's seat. I laughed and grabbed my bag and let myself into the RV.

"Oh please, Brick, take a seat, I must share a few announcements before we head off," Dawn greeted me, gesturing to the passenger seat. I glanced at Jo who only supplied me with a shrug and I sat down waiting for Dawn to speak.

"Hello everyone," Dawn said smiling, "First, B and I have so cleverly come up with the name of our RV, The 'JoricikeameyB'," Dawn said proudly.

"The Jo-what?" Zoey asked, thoroughly confused.

"We have combined all our names together!" Dawn exclaimed, giving B a high-five, "The 'Jo' from Jo, the 'Ric' from Brick, the 'Ike' from Mike, the 'Am' from Sam, the 'Ey' from Zoey, and the 'B' from B!"

"What about you Dawn?" Mike questioned.

"Oh...I'm not sure..." Dawn trailed. B tapped her shoulder and they looked at each other before Dawn melted into a smile. "Oh it's perfect! The 'JoricikeameyBawn!'" Dawn cried elatedly. Everyone eyed everyone else weirdly before we brushed it off and gave her a congratulatory applause.

"Alright, now that that's over, let's go!" Jo yelled, starting the engine. She pulled our of Sam's driveway and began heading us to Ohio.

_Two Hours Later..._

"So, do you think we're actually going to make it there in two days and come back in time for graduation?" I asked Jo quietly. She shrugged and eyed me for a second.

"Nah, but at least we're trying for the guy, right?"

"I guess, I just feel guilty giving him false hope,"

"Quit worrying about it! Damn, soldier! Sometimes I fear you're a woman!" Jo exclaimed. I chuckled a bit and shook my head at her statement.

"No ma'am! I'm the roughest and toughest there is!" I said, dropping my voice low and making it scratchy. Jo laughed.

"Yeah right, if you're such a "rough and tough" man, then I dare you not to send _one letter _to your grandma this whole trip!" I gulped hard, because I knew Jo wasn't kidding.

My grandma was my weakness. She was a sweet, ninety year old woman living in a nursing home in Alabama, from where I originated. I sent her a letter everyday, never failing once. I knew she liked to read them, she told me once, but sending her no letters would be pure torture.

"Jo you know I can't do that!" I whispered, horrified.

"Then I guess you're not as 'rough and tough' as you say you are," She smirked. I hung my head in the air, defeated.

"I guess not..." After a moment, or two, Jo looked at me again, thoughtfully.

"Hey, whose names are on those dog tags?" She questioned me.

"My closest friends," I answered. When she didn't reply back, I continued, "I like to keep them with my favorite thing in the world. After high school I'm enlisting in the army, so I decided, to incorporate both, I engraved my closest friends names on them,"

"Who's on there?" She asked, her eyes trained on the road. I picked up the first one farthest away on the left.

"This one is Sam's," I grabbed the middle one, "This one is Zoey's," I grabbed the second closest on the right, "This one is Mike's," I paused before continuing and grabbed the one furthest away on the right, "And this one is your's because...you're the closest to my heart," As I looked at Jo, I could have sworn I saw a deep red creep onto her face.

It just made her all the more beautiful. I had the sttrange urge to kiss her, but initial alarm stopped me, and I dismissed it away. This was _Jo,_my best friend! I couldn't think like that about her...yet, I did...

"You're such a girl," She mumbled. I smiled at her brightly, taking me away from my confusing thoughts.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"It wasn't a compliment!" She yelled.

**Jo POV**

Ugh! Why did he have to make me so flustered! This was the exact reason why I tried to avoid trying to have guy friends, because you get feelings for them, and then that happened!

After simple conversation with Brick, the sun disappeared completely and I stopped the RV on the side of the road so he could get in for me.

As he got in, everyone told us not to move.

"Let's just talk for a little while," Zoey suggested. Everyone jumped towards the idea, except for me.

"We have to keep moving if we wanna get there on time," I said. Sam looked at all of us.

"Guys...we all know we're not going to make it there and I know you're just doing it to make me feel better. You two need to rest, anyways, it's just nice to travel around a little bit with my friends," Sam said, his voice wavering and thickly coated in sadness. I hated that pure feeling of guilt I got as we all hung our heads because Sam knew, so I did something completely taking me by surprise.

"Then we'll miss graduation," I declared. They all averted their heads towards me in total and complete astonishment.

"What?" They all cried in unison.

"You heard me. Sam, we're gonna take you to Cedar Point and you're going to have the time of your life, because we're all friends, and that's what we do for other friends," They all debated this before Dawn put her fist in the air.

"Yay! Team 'JoricikeameyBawn' prevails!" She and B shared a smile before Zoey piped up.

"That's right...I've always done everything for my parents, but now I'm doing it for my friends!" Mike grinned.

"If Zoey stays, I stay,"

I won't go into detail on how gross their warm, 'I'm going to stare into your eyes for ten minutes and smile' routine was.

B gave us a thumbs up. We all turned to Brick and he froze. It wasn't like Brick to come up short for his friends, but he was completely silent.

"Brick?" I asked after continuous silence.

"I-I will do it! But...after this, I'm going off to the army and I may not see you all for a while...so I will make this really fun for all of us!" Brick declared. We all must have gawked at him before he moved sit down.

Brick and I sat down on a table in the corner while B and Dawn sat in a booth across the other side. Mike and Zoey took the bottom bunk of a bunk bed and Sam sat in a lawn chair he found folded up towards the back.

We left his issue alone for a while and sat in a comfortable silence.

"So what _are _we all gonna do after we graduate?" Zoey inquired, looking completely terrified. The RV fell silent for once, but Mike broke the silence.

"I wanna be a doctor..." He admitted sadly, not wanting to look into our eyes, "But I know I can't because of my MPD,"

"There's gotta be tons of doctors who have disorders like that," Sam said, encouragingly.

"But what if I turn into Chester during an operation? He can't do anything...or Svetlana? She'd tear up the whole operating room! And Vito...ugh...don't even get me started on him..."

"Well...have you ever thought about being a comedian?" Brick asked. Mike cocked his head at the question.

"A comedian?"

"Yeah!" Zoey exclaimed excitedly, "You don't even have to tell them about your MPD, you'd be hilarious!"

"But...I don't wanna get laughed at for my different personalities,"

"So don't tell anyone! Just prompt yourself! Don't you remember when Cameron did that science experiment on you? Take off your shirt to be Vito, put on a Fedora to be Manitoba Smith, get aggravated to be Chester, and have someone announce Svetlana's arrival and you have your act!" Zoey squealed. Though, reluctant, Mike smiled.

"Okay...I'll think about it!"

"Well, what about you Zoey?" Dawn asked.

"Well...I was thinking about maybe being a school teacher of some sort, like a little kid's teacher! I love kids so much and they're _bound_ to like me!" Zoey gushed to us. I rolled my eyes while everyone else was seemingly impressed.

"Lame," I yawned. Though she usually would have been hurt, Zoey just smiled.

"What about you then, Jo?" Zoey questioned me.

Usually, I'd come back with a quick, snappy remark, but this time I couldn't find one. All I could think about was wanting to have Brick with me after graduation, but if he was going to the army...then what was I to do? I mean, Brick was my best friend, he meant almost everything to me.

And dammit, yes, I knew I liked him a shit-ton more than just brotherly-sisterly love, but he didn't, and then he'd get married and I'd have to suffer through all that...but I guess I was willing to do that just to stay by his side.

DAMMIT!

I was turning into Zoey...the _epitome_ of girldom...

I had to snap out of it!

"Uh...just stuff..." I said.

"What kind of stuff?" Mike asked.

"Just stuff stuff!" I insisted, feeling flustered and embarrassed. They couldn't know I liked Brick...they just couldn't.

"Oh I get it..." Dawn said very softly. I whipped my head towards her and narrowed my eyes.

"If you say anything I swear to God I will find every animal in this entire nation and crush it," I growled, venom literally dripping off of my voice.

"Though that is physically impossible, I understand your threat," Dawn squeaked. B put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What about you, Sam?" Brick asked, not wanting to exclude him.

"I was planning to marry Dakota...but now, I think I'll just become a famous video-game software designer," Sam said with the faintest hint of sadness stuck in his throat.

"B is going become a mechanic," Dawn smiled. B smiled back.

"Of anything specific?" I questioned. B shook his head.

"And I am going to start my own peace-making group and make a difference in the world!" Dawn proclaimed.

"What's it going to be called?" Zoey demanded good-naturedly.

"I'm not sure yet, but once I find my group, I'm sure I will come up with a great name! Maybe you can still help me, B?" B nodded and smiled.

"I wouldn't want to be their kids," I remarked, "Their kid's names would be terrible," Laughs erupted throughout the room until Dawn looked about us and said:

"I don't know, we've already picked out our children's names and they seem pretty normal..." We all almost choked right then and there on our own saliva.

"What?" We all cried incredulously. Dawn shrugged, and brushed it off as no big deal.

"You two are together?" Mike asked.

"Not officially," Dawn answered.

"But-but...if you already chose out your kid's names then..." Zoey trailed.

"Since tenth grade I have been perfectly aware of B's feelings for me, and it wasn't until eleventh grade that I realized I reciprocated them. Anyways, we're pretty new to the idea as well," Dawn explained, sharing a smile with B.

"But...I'm your best friend...I guess I'm just a little hurt that you didn't tell me..." Zoey said, the hurt clear in her voice.

"Oh yes, I was aware of that fact, so that's why I didn't tell you. But more than that, you and Mike will be the God Parents of our first child and I didn't want to spoil that,"

"Oh really?" Zoey cried.

"Yes,"

"This is so great! I've never been so happy to be a future God Mother! Oh thank you, Dawn!" Zoey exclaimed, tears actually coming to her eyes. "What's their name going to be?"

"Well, for a son, B wanted to honor him after his father who died in a mining accident, so we're naming him Starlight James Jones, the James part after his father. And for a girl, we're naming her after my mother, so it would be Rosaisha Dusk Jones, the Dusk part, after my mother," Dawn explained happily.

"Damn," I muttered.

The mood lightened after that and soon we all decided it was a night. Sam climbed into the top bunk while Dawn and Zoey shared the bottom one. B and Mike took the booth, both on either side, so that left Brick and I.

Brick got ready to go into the passenger seat when I stopped him.

"No, soldier, you waited all day, you can drive tomorrow," I said. I scooched past him and took his place in the passenger's seat, trying to get as much warmth as the RV would give us.

"Thanks, Jo," I could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Whatever," Before my eyes closed all the way, I felt something come over top of my body.

"Don't worry, it's a blanket, to keep you warm. You just wouldn't be Jo if you were sick," Brick said softly. I heard him climb into the driver's seat.

I tried to calm down my erratic heart-beat. I could feel the damn blush on my cheeks and I hated it. I didn't want these stupid feelings, I didn't want his nice smile, and I just didn't want him to leave me.

But most of all, I didn't want his damn words haunting me all night...

"_You're the closest to my heart," _

**A\N Hi there! ^-^ Also, Dawn and B are not a couple yet, they are just fully aware of their feelings for one another xD Weird, huh?**

**I would have updated yesterday, but my internet wasn't working :'(**

**So, I think I'm going to put my answering to your reviews thing down at the bottom (Right here :D) So that you don't think it's one huge, gigantic author's note!**

**So I really hoped you liked it, and I hope you got why Ann Maria "likes" Brick, and if you don't just tell me in a review or PM and I'll make sure to explain it :)**

**So please review and tell me what you think, and thank you all so much for the kind reviews! They really make my day!**

**Once again, if you have any suggestions or questions, just PM me! ^-^**

**Love you guys! :D**

**Ta ta for now! ;)**


	4. On Our Own

**A\N Eee hehehehehe! :D You guys make me so happy! I love seeing all those reviews, they seriously just make my week :D**

**Ten freaking reviews for ONE chapter? Ugh, that's amazing! :D**

**Did you know in Elkhart, Indiana it is illegal for barber's to threaten to cut off a child's ear? XD Oh my Lord, that's the funniest thing I've heard in my life!**

**Okay, onto the reviews, I decided for the time being just so that I won't forget, Imma keep them up top :P**

**So to NTA FANFIC, Hmm, I'll definitely think about the going away part, and I pretty much have the ending figured out, but we'll see :P And I'm sorry, but there will be no drugs in this story whatsoever. I know some really close people to me that have done drugs, and that is just something I'm not comfortable writing about :( I'm really sorry!**

**Also to Smiles1998, Thanks! :D If you don't know why she likes him, just be sure to let me know and I'll explain :)**

**And to AgirlWithImagination, Hi! Nawws :3 Thank you! Haha, I love Brick and Jo as well, they make me so happy! :)**

**Also to crazypopcornlover4ever, A fight between B and Scott? I don't know, I mean, B is so calm and sweet and as much as I would love to write Scott getting the shit beaten out of him, I don't think that would be very much of B's character to do that, and I don't want to be too OOC :P Brick and Jo are my favorites too! That's sort of the reason, mostly Ann Maria is confused because she likes Lightning as well (that's the reason she asked him to take her) but since he made fun of her, she's still pretty hurt and Brick is sort of like a hero to her, so you'll just have to see how it all pans out! :) **

**Continuing to walleye26, Ann Maria doesn't exactly like him, she more is just confused as she likes Lightning, but she's hurt because he teased her, and he only liked her after she got her makeover. She sees Brick almost like a hero, but she's convinced she likes him :P I hope that helped! :)**

**Also to CreepySheepy, Haha, well I can't stand Scott, AT ALL :( Bleh! Yeah, actually, it was I that forgot Dawn's name, but I couldn't figure out how to incorporate it in, and then I thought 'BAWN!' And that's how it became! Oh yes, I feel like Dawn would be very insistent about their children's names! XD Thank you! ^-^**

**And to 2CrzY4U, Oh, I'm sorry! :'( I really do wish there were some pairings you like! Maybe you could tell me and I could incorporate it into the story somehow? Awww! Thank you, my writing has never been so nicely complimented before! :') It makes me so happy! Haha, I liked writing about their futures, it was really fun to do :) And I love Bawn, so join me young onee...MUAHAHAHAHA :) Sorry! That was very strange of me! xD**

**Moving along to NerdyBarista, OC stories ARE quite difficult xD I know, they did that in the show as well, and I loved watching them fight! So adorable! Zoey and Mike's relationship kinda reminded me of Gwen and Trent's in such a way, because they hit it off right off the bat. Oh, I LOVE Cedar Point, my father used to take me as well, but I haven't gone in ages! Thank you! ^-^ I know, not so much Cameron, but I love Ann Maria's little group :D Brick and Jo's chemistry was great on the show too, which is why we have this little fan-base of ours! XD Haha, yes, I've decided Scott must like Dwn so he can suffer from a broken-heart! :D Muahahahaha! I think next chapter, it is you will see what happened between Dakota and Sam :) I've really grown to like Ann Maria and Lightning, but never Ann Maria and Cameron...he's too innocent for her! XD Staci being paired up? Huh, it never hit my radar! I'm glad I decided for Bawn as well! Don't worry, through the thought of Ann Maria, you'll see why she has this little crush of hers :D I know, I was getting all squealy when I wrote the Dog-Tags part :) I know, I think Dawn and B will definitely be looking into their future in the next couple of chapters or so... :D**

**And to White Chocolate Power, Haha, I love writing for Jo when she gets all nervious around Brick ! XD Oh good, I'm glad you get it! I didn't want to confuse anyone! Oh no, no, no, no, no! Not friends with benefits, just friends who are aware of their feelings for each other! :O Oh thank you! I love being called brilliant! ^-^**

**Finally to Spliced-up-Angel, I love Nirvana so much its not even funny. Ahem, so far, I have a Nirvana shirt, a poster of the lovely Kurt Cobain himself, two CDs and a book all dedicated to it...but I'm just a bit of a fan, nothing excessive xD Aww, thanks! I'm mostly fast because I've been sick and because I love writing for this story! That's all I seem to do now! :) Really? I didn't think Ann Maria was funny, but thank you! That makes me so happy! I love Brick and Jo so much, its not even funny! And I really tried to keep Staci in character, but it's kinda hard, seeing as though she was only there for one episode, but I'm trying! :D**

**For some reason, I really want to write all of them singing 'The Circle of Life' together! XD But whateves, maybe I'll do it on my own free time! ^-^**

**Okay, story time! :3**

**General POV (This is still at night for Lightning's group)**

As they drove continuously, Scott sighed impatiently, tapping his foot on the pedal.

"Face it guys, we're lost," He growled, looking about the road for any sort of help. Ann Maria's eyes widened.

"What, no way, we _can't _be lost!" Scott resisted slapping her and kept his hands locked on the wheel.

"Well face the music, sweetie," He snapped, "We are,"

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, we're going to die in the middle of the road, lost, cold, and hungry! I'm never going to see my Mom again!" Cameron screeched in pure terror, "I WANT MY BUBBLE!"

"Keep it together!" Lightning yelled at Cameron, "Lightning says we pull over and ask another car,"

"Do ya see any cars we can ask?" Ann Maria sighed, exasperated.

"There's an RV!" Cameron pointed excitedly to an RV parked on the side of the road. "Maybe they know,"

"My great great Uncle Stan invented the RV, before that, people had to sleep out in the wilderness,"

"That lie didn't even make sense," Ann Maria stated.

"It wasn't a lie!" Staci protested.

"Whateva, just pull ova Scott, and ask that RV if we're headin' in the right direction," Ann Maria urged. Scott gripped his hands tighter on the wheel and pressed on.

"Nuh uh, man. RV's are full of lonely old people who just wanna talk about their cows all day, no way am I gonna stop to talk to them. We'll find another car," Scott explained, shuddering.

"Well we gotta find a hotel or somethin', 'cause we need to sleep and rest up," Ann Maria said, looking about the vast highway for any source of a hotel.

"How much money do we have?" Cameron questioned.

"Lightning counted and we have one thousand dollars," Lightning stated proudly

"Then we have to be careful on how much we spend, Cedar Point's expensive," Cameron warned.

"We'll worry 'bout that lata, right now we need to find a hotel,"

**Jo POV**

I woke up to the sound of a pickup truck rumbling past us at eight in the morning. I stretched a bit, trying to get used to my surroundings. Mike was halfway off the booth, his face on the table and his arm propped on the seat, while B cozied up on the other seat, tucking his feet in, and facing the ground so he knew if he was to fall off.

Sam was caving in on the top bunk, while Zoey was laying over top of Dawn on the bottom bunk.

I turned and looked at Brick who had his on the wheel, and his whole body positioned so he faced me. It was sort of nice to see his face relaxed rather than in soldier mode. Before I went to wake him up, I noticed his hand clutching a dog tag. I edged closer to him, quietly, so I could make out which one it was.

"Jo?" Brick questioned, sleepily.

"AHH!" I screamed, stumbling back.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing! Just getting you up, maggot! We've got to drive!" I lied, feeling my face heat up. Brick shrugged and gently went to wake up the others. I tried to calm down my heart beat again.

Dammit, I hated it when Brick did that to me! I didn't want those feelings, I just wanted to forget about him! He was leaving anyways, so why would I even bother? And dammit, he was leaving...I wouldn't see him for...God knows how long...and DAMMIT I'd miss him!

"Oh Jo, you must be hungry, please, eat! I insist," Dawn urged, holding out an apple to me. I grumpily snatched it from her and turned back in my seat, not wanting to join their stupid, pointless conversations. I didn't know why I was even part of that stupid group anyway. Everyone had their best friend. Mike and Zoey, Dawn and B, Dakota and Sam. It was ridiculous, and everyone of them were either a couple, sort of a couple, or bound to be a couple! And then that just left me...

Oh wait...and Brick, that left Brick too! I mean, we were best friends, right? And everyone in our group was turning out to be a couple...so that means Brick and I would be too, right? But...I knew I liked Brick a lot more than I was willing to admit, but he didn't like me in the same way. He just had a brotherly-sisterly sort of love going on...

"Jo? Jo?" Brick's voice brought me out of my thoughts and into reality. I jolted a bit, a felt a deeper blush than before come onto my face and I prayed to God that he didn't see it.

"What?" I said sharply, my word coming out a lot more pointed than I intended. Brick didn't seem bothered by it in the least...and I couldn't figure out why.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah, whatever,"

"Hey Jo!" Zoey called from the back. I turned sharply and saw Mike, Sam, and B were all in their little corner and Zoey and Dawn were in their own.

"What?" I asked, with what I was pretty sure was a glare.

"Come and talk with us, Jo! Please?" Dawn pleaded. Wait, they _actually _wanted _me_ to sit and talk with? But, I always thought they hated me...I put up one finger to show them to wait a minute and I turned back to Brick.

"They want me to sit with them," I stated, dumb-founded by their urgent request. Brick smiled brightly for me and turned for a second to give me this smile.

"Go sit with them, then!" Brick exclaimed, chuckling a bit. I bit my lip in concern.

"But what about you? Aren't you going to be lonely, soldier?"

"Not one bit, ma'am! Besides, I see you everyday!" He said casually, as if he wasn't going to leave me.

"I just want to spend every moment I can with you before I leave," I muttered. I gasped knowing I had just said that out loud and I snapped my head up suddenly hoping that he didn't hear it. He stayed steadily watching the road and I sighed in utter relief. "Alright, I'll come back up later, then," I declared. Brick smiled again, but somehow this one seemed bigger, even giddier than usual.

"Copy that," As I left him to go talk to Dawn and Zoey, I was washed with instant relief that he didn't know my feelings. But there was a small, _miniscule_ even, part of me that wanted him to know.

And that really freaked me out.

**Brick POV**

Jo's going to miss me, and she wanted to spend EVERY SINGLE MOMENT WITH ME! I had to calm down, but I couldn't. Lately, Jo's been making me feel so weird. I mean, she's _Jo_ my best friend, and rival. Yet there I was, sitting there like a mad-man in love, happy because I knew she wanted me to stay, and-

Wait.

I just compared myself to a mad-man in love...I wasn't in love with Jo, was I? I mean, Jo and I would be weird together. I had a moral code, I cared about others, I wrote a letter to my grandmother everyday, and Jo, she was 'My way, or get the helll out of my way'. She didn't care about others, and she sure didn't talk to her grandmother.

And sure, I found her attractive. The way her violet eyes narrowed when she was angry, the way she's blow her hair out of her face when she was concentrating, the way she bit her lip when she nervous or scared, I thought she was beautiful, inside and out. And even if Jo and I would ever become a thing, it would be like dating my sister...right?

No...it wouldn't Jo and I were best friends, but we weren't close enough to be brother and sister. Because there were some things Jo and I would always disagree on, and fight about...so did I love her? I just couldn't figure it out.

On multiple occasions, I made it clear to her that she was important to me...and I knew I found her attractive, so I guess at that moment, I just knew that I liked her, but Jo and I as a couple would just be weird...

I turned to glance at her, but instead I saw Dawn and B share a small smile with each other, and I found myself grinning.

Sometimes, weird can be good...

**General POV **

"You should be dancin'...yeah! Dancin' yeah!" Ann Maria snickered at Lightning's rendition of the Bee Gee's song "You Should Be Dancin'" Lightning stopped and turned defensive towards the Jersey girl. "Lightning sings it great!"

"Oh yea, Lightning, you should be a pro," She drawled with a smile. Lightning had a snippy remark ready on his tongue, but he stopped himself.

_Lightning likes Ann Maria, and he's gonna mess it up if he's mean. Lightning's gotta get his girl...Lightning's gotta be nice... _Lightning thought to himself.

"Maybe I _am_ a pro," He retorted playfully.

"My great great great great great great great Uncle Marlin created the first ever band, yeah, before then, people just sang alone,"

"Oh yeah, Staci? What was their band name?" Scott challenged with a smirk. Staci's face paled as she shruggled for an answer.

"How would I know? He was a great times seven!" Staci cried.

"Uh huh, so how do you know his name, then?" Scott teased, laughing at the poor girl's misery. Ann Maria felt her blood boil. She hated nothing more than teasing, and she didn;t exactly know why she still had REALLY SMALL feelings for Lightning even after, but she hated _any _bully that's around.

"M-my mom!" Staci stuttered.

"Oh, so why didn't your mom tell you?"

"Lightning says stop, Scott," Lightning warned his best friend.

"Oh, lemme guess, because you're a little liar who has a pathetic life and all she can do is make up lies so people will like her," Scott pressed on.

"THAT'S IT!" Ann Maria shrieked. "Pull ova, Scott!"

"What? No way!"

"Pull the damn car ova!" Ann Maria demanded, her face turning a bright red.

"No!" He protested. Ann Maria somehow manuvered herself in her seat and managed to squeeze her small foot into Scott's area for his feet. She stomped her foot on his, and hit the breaks. He pulled over to the side of the road so they wouldn't get killed. "What the hell, Jersey?" He screamed. "You could have gotten us killed!"

"Well, I'd ratha be killed than be stuck in a car with you!" Ann Maria sneered. She jumped out of the pickup and grabbed her leopard print bags and Staci's pink bags.

"What? You're taking me with you?" Staci cried, disbelievingly. Ann Maria smiled.

"Yea, I _hate_ bullies," She spat.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, sweetie, but you weren't exactly the nicest person either," Scott pointed out. Guilt washed over Ann Maria's face. She turned and faced Staci again.

"I know that, and I'm sorry that I was mean to you...I really like you Staci, and I hope you can forgive me," Ann Maria apologized. Staci smiled and grabbed her bags.

"It's okay, I forgive you,"

"Well then, Lightning's going too!" Lightning declared, hastily grabbing his green and black bags. Scott walked over to Lightning.

"But why?"

"Lightning was once a bully too," He started, glancing at Ann Maria. His gaze averted back to Scott, "But he wants to change and being around a bully won't help anything,"

Soon, Scott clambered back into his pickup grumbling angrily about the three and Cameron joined him in Ann Maria's previous spot.

"Wait, short stuff, aren't ya comin'?" Cameron offered her and the two others a weak smile.

"Sorry, but I kinda wanna make it to graduation...but it was fun while it lasted...bye Ann Maria," Cameron stuttered.

Scott's pickup became something you could barely decipher in the distance, and the trio was left alone.

"So...what are we gonna do now?" They cried hopelessly.

**A\N Hey there! ^-^ Yes, it's a bit shorter than usual, and I apologize greatly for it! I didn't have much inspiration for this chapter! :\**

**I promise next chapter will be much longer!**

**I'm getting a haircut today! I've decided since I like you all so much, you will now know what goes on in my day! :D Okay?**

**Okay!**

**Right now, as I typed, I'm listening to a Swedish House Mafia Techno Song Thing! xD**

**So as usual, I hope you all liked it, and I am open to hearing suggestions of any sort!**

**So have a nice day! ^-^**

**Love you guys!**

**See ya later, alligator! ;)**


	5. Bounded

**A\N Oh gosh guys! You just make me so happy :D I love seeing reviews so much, it's really nice to know that people like this!**

**Haha, and you all ask why I update so fast. It's because you guys get me so happy and motivate me! :D**

**ON TO REVIEW TIME! :O**

**So to NTA FANFIC, Awws, thanks for the cookie, it's delicious! :D**

**And to 2CrzY4U, Haha, well thank you! I'm glad you like it no matter what :D Yes, weird is amazing! Hmm, maybe, you'll just have to see...and Cameron didn't want to go with Scott, but he cares about his education a lot, and he wants to be there for graduation, so that's why he went :)**

**Also to AgirlWithImagination, Aww thank you ^-^ And I sincerely apologize for the shortness of last chapter! :'( I know! I'm so excited for their realizations! :D Ahhh! Oh...um, okay...**

**Proceeding to Smiles1998, Oh good, I didn't want you to be confused! :)**

**Continuing on to CreepySheepy, Yay! I'm glad that you're logged in now! :D Yesh, I am evil to Scott, but he shall be back...and he'll get his... :D MUAHAHAHAHA! Thank you, again! ^-^**

**Also to Spliced-up-Angel, Oh I love it too! :D I love writing for Jo especially because you're about to see so many layers on her! ^-^ Aww :'( I'm sorry, I am virtually letting you borrow my merchandise! XD Hmm...well, I have one with all of their biggest songs, it has eleven tracks, anyways, it's my favorite, but I also have Sliver, the box edition full with demo tracks and live playings! ^-^ What's your favorite song by them? Mine is 'All Apologies', followed closely by 'Dumb' and 'Drain You' :)**

**Moving on to White Chocolate Power, I loved watching them in the show, because they were too cute there as well! :3 I know, stupid Brick having to be all awesome and go to the army :( Ugh, I hate him too, please be as violent to Scott as you want! I'll enjoy it! XD I love Dawn and B as well, they aren't my favorite of all time, Brick and Jo are, but they follow insanely close! I like quick updates as well, and I'm the same way, it's the quality that matters, not the quantity! :D**

**Also to Fprmr1, I'm sorry! :( But I already wrote for Dawn and B as the majority chose them. I'm really sorry, but maybe I could squeeze in a Dott friendship moment? :P**

**Finally to NerdyBarista, Yes, goodbye Scott! For now, at least xD And Staci and Cameron? Uh, possibly :P I know, I was going to have them ask, but then I was like, no way Scott would NEVER go for that! Yeah, you'll definitely see a new side of Jo this chapter, and I think she would be more hesitant on a relationship, and you'll see why :) I know, I was like, good for you, Lightning! ^-^ I know, I like Staci and I feel like she was given an unfair personality because OBVIOUSLY if there is a compulsive liar, people are gonna vote her out! :( Cameron cares about his education, so he went with Scott based solely on that reason :)**

**Also, I did get my hair cut! ^-^ It was funny though, the hairstylist kept cutting, and cutting, and cutting, and all I could think was, 'OH MY GOSH WAS IF SHE CUTS IT ALL OFF?' But she didn't because she was nice :D**

**Be warned, this chapter is really serious and it focuses on Jo a LOT, but hey, it's character development! WOO! :D**

**Okay, chapter time! ^.^**

**Jo POV (This is when she is going to go talk to Zoey and Dawn)**

I reluctantly left Brick and joined Dawn and Zoey. They sat sitting cross-legged on the bottom bunk and Dawn patted an empty spot next to her and I hesitantly climbed in. I hated myself for being so weak, but it was strange for me to be found hanging around girls. They were either scared of me, or they hated me. And then it clicked.

Brick really was my only friend.

"Jo, we're worried about you," Zoey started, sharing a quick glance with Dawn. I furrowed my eyebrows at them and quickly became defensive.

"Why? I'm fine," I snapped.

"You're very hard to read, Jo, and that's because you put up many walls that no one can get through," Dawn said, "But I think you're going to be quite lost without Brick," I quickly felt my face flush and I bit my lip. Zoey smiled affectionately at me.

"Aww!" She cooed, "You like Brick!"

"No, he's just my friend," I whispered venomously. Dawn gave me a warm smile and I knew that look. It meant, 'I know you're lying' But I wasn't lying! Brick really was just my friend, because no matter how _I _felt, it didn't matter, because Brick would never feel the same way.

I just didn't understand why he didn't like Dawn or Zoey. I stared upon them as they conversed quietly amongst themselves, excluding me again. Dawn pulled her hair into a side ponytail, and it still made her look unconditionally pretty. And Zoey had a purple flower positioned in her hair. My hair, however, was just...short and messy.

Damn them and their girly ways.

"Well, then we'll talk about Zoey!" Dawn declared suddenly, breaking me away from my never-ending thoughts. Zoey looked surprised and shook her head vigorously.

"Oh no, I don't think we should!"

"Yeah we should, 'cause you might as well just jump Mike for how much you two flirt," I muttered. Zoey's face turned a deep red and she tried to think of a retort, but I cocked and eyebrow and her sigh showed her defeat.

"So maybe I like him a bit..." Dawn smiled and a gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

"When you and Mike met it was instant attraction, and you know it. You cling to him because of your lack of siblings and your loneliness as a child," Dawn remarked, smiling at her friend. Zoey frowned a bit at Dawn's words.

"That not why I like him!" She protested.

"I know, but that's part of the reason. I know you love him for many reasons. But when someone is in love with another person, it's always bound by one thing. For you, Zoey, you were looking for a friend in Mike, and now you have a best friend, and a potential boyfriend," Dawn explained, reassuring Zoey. Zoey's face was washed with relief, but then she blushed ferociously.

"I-I don't love him!"

"Yeah, and I don't like running laps," I muttered, rolling my eyes. Zoey's eyes faced the ground before she looked about us both and she looked terrified.

"Am I really that obvious?" Dawn nodded sympathetically.

"Obvious and then some," I said.

"W-well, what about you, Dawn? What bounds you to B?" Zoey asked lightly, trying to change the subject from her to the nature girl. A light pink tinge covered Dawn's face at the mention her...well what was she to her? Uh, her almost boyfriend's name.

"Normality," Dawn stated with a nod of her head to confirm this. Zoey's face must have matched that of mine as we were both appalled with her simple answer.

"That's it?" Zoey questioned in disbelief.

"Jeez, I thought your reason would be extravagant,"

"Well, I've always been teased because of my aura readings and my nature loving ways. And before I met you two, I never really had any friends that thought I was normal. Sure, I had the average conversation here or there, but they were all very passive-aggressive with me. But when I met B, he was so kind to me, and I know what he wants to say, because he's very open with people, and he has nothing to hide...but, he also knows how I feel. People tease him because of his real name, and because he doesn't talk. We both consider each other normal...and that's why I love him..."Dawn explained with a heart-felt expression, "And his sweet expressions and thoughts!" She added quickly.

She turned for a moment, and caught B's eye. She gave him a smile and he returned it, the love just radiating off of both of them.

As I watched them gush over their guys I discreetly looked over to Brick for a second before I turned back to them, hoping they didn't notice. I realized I really wanted to be like Dawn and be able to express my emotions freely, but I just wasn't ready to admit to anything just yet.

My mother thought my dad was her soul mate, she gave him everything, and she dedicated all her time to him and he repays her by cheating on her for three years with a co-worker of hers, and then running out on us with said co-worker. I didn't care how much Dawn and Zoey thought I liked Brick. He'd just cheat and leave just like my dad, and leave me to be heart-broken and I was Jo Hanston, I got broken bones, not broken-hearts.

But I couldn't lie and I say that I wasn't attracted to Brick. He was really nice looking, and I knew that. And I knew that he was sweet and a gentleman, but that's what mom thought, and look where it got her. Depressed, lonely, and angry a lot of the time. I didn't want to end up like that, but I couldn't say that I wasn't interested.

"Hey..." I said quietly, catching Dawn and Zoey's attention. They perked up and faced me. "Let's just say that _maybe_ I was interested in Brick...what bounds me to him?" I questioned awkwardly. Zoey looked like she was about to burst from happiness, but Dawn just gave me a light smile.

"Yours is very difficult, Jo," Dawn began, her smile faltering a bit, "You're very insecure about yourself and sometimes you fear what others think of you, because of the actions of your family,"

"Wait," Zoey interrupted, "What's going on with your family?" She questioned, or rather interrogated me with a fierce look stuck on her face. I shrugged it off, deeming it not that big of a deal.

"It's nothing,"

"Believe it or not, Jo, Dawn and I are your best friends and we care for you. We just want to know what's happening in your family, because if it's troubling you, then you can bet we wanna know!" Zoey exclaimed, leaning in. Dawn nodded in utter agreement and leaned in as well.

For a moment, I couldn't answer them. I only considered Brick my best friend because I always felt stupid when I said Dawn and Zoey were because I always thought they were repulsed by me.

"Jo?" Dawn asked, waving her petite hand in my face to wake me out of some unknown trance.

"Oh, uh, sorry," I stuttered, feeling embarrassed.

"Please tell us," Zoey practically begged me.

"When I was eleven my dad left my mom and me for a co-worker of my mom and we haven't seen or heard from him since," I said simply. Zoey's face dropped dramatically, but Dawn's face stayed neutral until she said:

"That's not all, is it?" She grimaced when she said this, because I think she knew I was holding back.

"My mom's been depressed ever since, okay? She's been seeing a therapist, but it's not helping," I snapped, but soon I felt a weird sensation greet my eyes as I continued, "She's even thought about suicide...she's told me...that she wants to die," I whispered, my voice low and wavering.

"Oh Jo..." Zoey trailed, her eyes full of tears.

Oh Gosh, that is what that strange sensation was...tears. I quickly blinked them back and suddenly felt embarrassed for showing them my vulnerable side.

"Hey, no treating me different, got it?" I questioned snappily. They nodded back, blinking away their tears as well. "So, are you going to finish what you were saying or not, Dawn?" Dawn nodded hastily.

"Yes, as I was saying, you are very insecure and quite scared of people seeing your weaknesses. What bounds you to Brick is more of a combination between three things you crave the most. Trust, Gentleness, and most of all, Acceptance," Dawn said, clearing her throat a bit. She looked at me, and I gave her a nod to continue, "You feel like you can't trust anyone because of your father's actions, because he betrayed your mother in the worst of ways, so you distance yourself from others based solely on this reason. But you know in some fashion, in your sub-conscious that Brick would be ever faithful to you,"

"And us," Zoey interrupted again, "You can always trust us," Dawn nodded in agreement with Zoey.

"Always," I felt annoyed by how deep this was getting, and I motioned for her to continue.

"Keep going," I urged her.

"Oh right, um let's see. Ah, yes. You also want gentleness. You father was always rough with you, correct?" Dawn inquired.

"Yeah...he always wanted a boy, but instead he had me, so he would treat me like he would treat his son," I answered back, feeling lost in all these emotions I had.

"You want gentleness, because you feel rough yourself, and sometimes I think you even think that you don't look or act like a girl. And your mother was too engrossed with your father to notice that you needed a woman role-model, a mother, but instead she chose to ignore you...and her constant love and affection she gave to your father smothered him, and that's what initially drove him away," Dawn explained, pausing for a second to let it all set in.

"So...it wasn't my fault?" I managed to ask weakly. Zoey looked like she was about to bawl, and I wanted to punch her. That was supposed to be my emotion, so why couldn't _I _feel it?

"Oh no, of course not, Jo," Dawn exclaimed, looking extremely worried, "Your mother told you that, didn't she?"

"No," I lied. This was getting too personal, they couldn't know all the things about me and just accept it...because _I_ didn't even accept it.

"Anyways, Brick provides you with this gentleness you want. He is always gracious of your company, and...he thinks the world of you, you can see it in his eyes, and that's the kind of gentleness your parents don't possess. But most of all, you want acceptance. Most people, especially girls don't accept your tom-boyish manner, and cold demeanor. Most people tease you or oush you away, some even fear you, and you feel like an outcast, like no one will ever care for you, but Brick does. He has always been ever accepting of you, and he cares for you even more than you know. Whenever he says, 'You wouldn't be Jo if you did this, or if you were like this, you just wouldn't be Jo' well that's because he's already accepted you for exactly who you are, and he doesn't want you any other way...that's what bounds you to Brick," Dawn said softly, a light smile gracing her face.

I sat there, dumbfounded by her words and struck by so many feelings, but one just kept overpowering them all. I didn't want to face it, so I got up to leave them, so I could breathe without Dawn analyzing my breath for me.

"Wait, Jo, I just have one more thing to tell you!" Dawn cried out. I turned swiftly around and walked back to them.

"What?" I asked softly.

"I know you fear about Brick leaving you for the army and we are all worried that we might not see him for awhile...but you've got to know, he's been a bit iffy on leaving or not," Dawn whispered softly.

"Huh? Why?" Zoey asked for me.

"Because, he is bound to Jo...and she's the reason why he might stay," Dawn informed us softly. I wanted to say something, but my blush was too deep and I couldn't configure words that didn't make me sound stuipid, so I fled from them, hoping to calm down my breathing.

**General POV**

Ann Maria held out her freshly manicured and newly painted (Pink, in case you were wondering) thumb before her in an effort to hitch-hike. Staci rambled on about how her great great what's their face invented hitch-hiking. Lightning walked over to Ann Maria and joined her.

"Lightning says were just walk there," Lightning insisted.

"Lightning, why do ya always refer to yaself in third person?" Ann Maria inquired, facing the much taller teen.

"Lightning's the best, so he deserves third person," He said, smiling widely. Ann Maria stared at him for a moment before chuckling a bit and smiled back.

"Whateva, if it makes ya happy,"

"Why did you get a make-over?" Lightning questioned her, as car after car passed them.

"I didn't like how I looked. People made fun of me, and I know they still do, but at least now I like me," Ann Maria stated with a shrug, "It doesn't botha me, 'cause I know they're all jealous," Lightning smiled at her.

"Lightning's not jealous!"

"Uh huh, okay," Ann Maria drawled.

"He's not!" He protested, a pink tinge of color making its debut on his face.

"Lightning...why did you bully me?" Ann Maria questioned seriously.

"Lightning liked you before your makeover. He didn't like how you had to make yourself completely over to feel good about you, because he thought the nice, sweet, insecure Ann Maria was awesome," Lightning answered truthfully. Before the Jersey girl could respond, a old, green truck came and stopped before them.

The passenger door opened to reveal a rather insane looking man. The driver, however, looked more sane and calm.

"Hey kids! Do you need a ride?" The driver asked, "My name's Candy, this is my father, Cane,".

_Candy and Cane? Weird._ Ann Maria thought as she nodded.

"Yea, we're tryin' to get to Sandusky, Ohio," She answered. Candy nodded thoughtfully and smiled.

"Well we're heading that way, so we'll give you a ride until we have to part!" Candy replied with a rather large smile. They all nodded gratefully and climbed into the truck.

"Thanks!" Lightning said as he squeezed himself into the backseat of their truck. He was wedged in between a wall and Ann Maria, and she was in the middle of him and Staci.

"My great great great great great great greta Uncle Lou made the first truck, before then everyone had to drive a car and haul all of their stuff with their hands,"

Ann Maria smiled at Staci and faced front.

"Let's sing!" Candy exclaimed. She and Cane began singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" in an out-of-tune manner.

"This is gonna be a long ride..." Ann Maria muttered.

**A\N Hey there! Back so soon? XD **

**Yes, I understand this was a bit dark, but it's all for the sake of character development, and I promise we will get a Brick POV section next chapter! ^.^**

**So as always, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me a review telling me what you think, and I am always open to requests, suggestions, and ideas!**

**Love you guys! ^-^**

**See you in a while, crocodile ;)**


	6. Instant Messenger

**A\N Hey there, all! ^.^ Ugh, everytime I see a new review I always get all mushy :3 Hahaha, but being mushy is a good thing! XD**

**So to White Chocolate Power, I know, but Jo is strong, she shall pull through! Maybe he'll stay, maybe we won't...the world may never know! MUAHAHAHAHA! I know, when I was writing Lightning and Ann Maria's scene I just kept thinking 'Awwww!' :D Dawn does? Huh, I didn't notice that, I mean, I usually use those words, and I'm way younger than eighteen! XD (Shudders) I hate Candy and Cane with a passion, they freak me out. I don't think anyone's gonna die in this :) Woo, I know! I can't wait for them to finally reach there!**

**And toAgirlWithImagination, I loved writing the girl's talking scene, it was a lot of fun! ^-^ Haha, yeah, I feel like Lightning would have no filter if he were a real person :)**

**Also to Smiles1998, Awwe, thank you! :D You guys just make me so excited to write, so I just write as soon as reviews come out, because answering them is always the first thing I do! Haha, yes, I think now, Jo is finally gonna start coming to terms with her feelings for Brick :D Awhee, thank you!**

**Proceeding on to CreepySheepy, I know, I love that chapter for having so much love and fluff! I like Mike and Zoey as well, but I loves me some Brick and Jo! :3 What's Blainerific? Because I'm thinking of two different possibilities...like, Blaine from Glee, or Blaineley from Total Drama? Also, could you expand more on the DVD thing? I get the basics of it, but I'm not really sure how to portray it, but I'd be more than happy to! ^-^**

**Continuing on to 2CrzY4U, Well hi there! Ahwees, thank you! Yeah, but Jo is tough herself, so she'll pull through! I love Dawn as well, I always found her adorable! :3 Haha, I know, Candy and Cane are just those people who have like ulterior motives and have chainsaws in the back of their mini-vans...(Shudders) Don't worry, we can all be weirdos together! :D**

**Moving on to NerdyBarista, Mhmm, she doesn't really like how she looks :\ I know, I loved writing Mike and Zoey's little thing, and B and Dawn are just too cute! I feel bad as well :( Jo doesn't deserve that! I know, I feel like Dawn and Zoey would just be really nice and sweet to everybody! I know, now all Dawn has to do is convince Jo that she and Brick belong together! :D I know, we'll definitely see how Jo feels about Brick being bonded to her in this chapter...I think! :P I think somewhere deep inside, Lightning is a nice person! Candy and Cane give me the creeps! XD**

**Also to NTA FANFIC, Haha, doesn't everyone? :P**

**And to crabsareamazing14, Hi! ^-^ Thank you so much for the wonderful review! Oh yes, I thought it was cute as well! I love Brick and Jo as well, and I watched it online, so that's how I finished it xD Oh yes, the RV name...we won't even go there! XD Oh my, that would be quite strange wouldn't it? Well at least we know ficitional characters will stay just that: fictional! Oh, I loves me some Dawn and B :)**

**Also to Ipink Cornflakes, Hello! :) Nawwwws :3 Thank you! I was really hoping they weren't too OOC, but if you can see this an actual episode, then I guess I must be doing fairly well! I love all these couples so much! :D**

**Finally to Spliced-up-Angel, 'Breed' was the first Nirvana song I ever listened to! :D And I love 'Heart Shaped Box' and 'Rape Me' they are both so amazing! :3 Thank you, I love Jo's character layers, WOO! And yes, finally, Lightning has some humanity! :D**

**I'm so happy, everyone! We're getting new member to our family! ^-^ And yes, I do consider this the family, and I am the grandma :)**

**Okay, chapter time! :D**

**General POV**

"Hey, Lightning, Lightning!" A familiar voice exclaimed. Lightning could barely regain consciousness before Ann Maria almost squealed in delight.

"We're in Pennsylvania!" She said, bombarding him in a hug, "Ya know what that means?"

"What?" Lightning asked, though he was more focused the Jersey girl wrapped around him in a tight embrace. He decided that this was definitely his favorite part of the whole trip and he would savor it as best he could.

"It means we're only one state away before we get there! We're almost there!" She gushed uncharacteristically. A part of Lightning was genuinely happy to see the girl so elated, but another part of him regretted ever coming onto this trip...soon Ann Maria was going to be all over Brick and forget all about Lightning.

"Lightning thinks that's awesome," He partially lied to her. Ann Maria pulled back much to dismay and grinned up at him excitedly.

"It is, that means-" Before she could finish, Staci shoved something in her face.

"Look guys, Dakota's on instant messager," Staci said, smiling at the mention on her idol.

"Ooo, let me see that Staci, I need to ask her something," Ann Maria ordered. Staci happily complied to her wishes and thrusted her the phone happily.

"You know great great great great great Aunt Fran invented instant messager, yeah, before that it was just messenger," Staci informed them almost snootily. Ann Maria looked at Staci for a moment, long and hard.

"Well then I love your Aunt Fran," She smiled. Lightning looked at Ann Maria a bit shocked, but happy all the same and nodded to Staci.

"Hey kids! We're stopping for a pit stop! Come on, this is yout only chance!" Candy exclaimed.

"At least she stopped singin' for five minutes to tell us," Ann Maria muttered. They all leaped out, trying to get out of that insane truck for at least a little while. They all emerged through the doors and immediately headed towards a coffee shop.

"We're going to go to the bathroom, together!" Cane excessively yelled to the teens. They cringed as his out-of-tune manner finally struck them and his grin teetered to the side in a rather insane way.

"Got it!" Ann Maria exclaimed, faking a smile. As soon as the duo were gone, Lightning sighed in relief.

"Lightning says we ditch those crazies!" He declared, sitting at a table. Ann Maria took the seat next to him, and Staci took the remaining seat next to Ann Maria.

"And what do ya propose we do? They're our only ride to Ohio, crazy or not," Ann Maria pointed out, sighing a bit. She pulled out the phone again, and hastily typed in her username and password. "Oh, there she is!" Ann Maria exclaimed to her friends.

**IluvJersey97- Hay girl!**

_PrettyinPink- Hi, Ann Maria..._

**IluvJersey97- What's wrong, Dakota?**

_PrettyinPink- I just don't know why Sam broke up with me! I love him so much!_

**IluvJersey97- Wait? What? Sam says you broke up with him, he's heart-broken!**

_PrettyinPink- No...Sam texted me and told me that it was over!_

**IluvJersey97- Sam lost his phone two days before. He said you messaged him on Facebook...**

_PrettyinPink- I got rid of Facebook because Daddy said I could get my own network! Have...have you ever been in love, Ann Maria?_

She stole a quick glance at Lightning and typed:

**IluvJersey97-Yea, maybe...so?**

_PrettyinPink-Then you would know that if the guy you love broke up with you, you'd die...that's me..._

Ann Maria looked at Lightning and Staci as she read their conversation aloud.

"You don't think someone stole Sam's phone and hacked into Dakota's Facebook do you?" Lightning questioned. Ann Maria shrugged and continued the conversation.

**IluvJersey97- Um, I'll talk to ya later, Dakota**

_PrettyinPink- Okay, I won't be home for three days though_

**IluvJersey97- Why? **

_PrettyinPink- Well I'm at Cedar Point. Everyone knows every year I go to Cedar Point. Sammy was gonna come with me...but..._

**IluvJersey97-Oh okay, bye...**

"That's why they're goin'! Sam's tryna win Dakota back!" Ann Maria shouted excitedly. Staci nodded in agreement.

"Totally. You know, my great great great great Uncle Samuel invented winning. Yeah, before that you just lost," Lightning ignored this statement of Staci's and said:

"Well, does Brick's group know?" Ann Maria shrugged and handed Staci the phone.

"Dunno, Staci look out for Zoey's screen-name and tell me when she gets on okay?" Staci nodded happily.

"Yeah, okay, what's her screen-name?"

"IheartMPD," Ann Maria said.

"IheartMPD?" Lightning questioned with a quizzical look.

"Yeah, 'pparantly it stands for Multiple Personality Disorder, but since Mike's such an idiot, he thinks it means, Medical Procedure Doctor," Ann Maria snorted.

"Lightning thinks they just need to make out already! We all know they're in love!' Lightning exclaimed, shaking his head disdainfully. Ann Maria reflected fpr a second, on Dakota's words.

_Have you ever been in love?_

Ann Maria looked at Lightning and smiled softly. She wasn't too sure about the feeling of love, but she knew it was a possibilty.

"Eh, they'll do it sometime..." Lightning caught her eye and smiled, "Love is in the air,"

**A\N Hey guys! Yes, I know it was really short but I've been so busy with packing that I haven't had much time on the computer, and my internet's been down! :(**

**Yes, I am packing, for I am heading out to my father's for the summer, which means no daily internet because my dad doesn't want it. So, I will be typing a lot, but I don't know when I can update!**

**I'm really sorry, but please review because even if it was short, this was a very important chapter!**

**Love you guys! :D**

**'Til next time ;)**


	7. Sealed

**A\N Hey guys! ^-^ Awwww! Thank you so much for all the love and reviews! :3 They just make me so happy and stufflies!**

**Okay reviewwwwwsss! :D**

**So to NerdyBarista, Yeah, I didn't really like Lightning in the series because of his narcissism, but I do enjoy writing for him. :P I know, finally, Staci is helping! WOO! Candy and Can _are_ rather eccentric, but I don't think they would do anything too endangering. XD I know! I love Dakota and Sam! :( Whoever did it is an evil person! Haha, maybe it will be! And yes, Mike's an idiot if he didn't realize what that meant. Oh, thank you! I try to make long chapters when I can, but thank you for being so accepting of my shortness! XD Thank you! :D**

**Also to NTA FANFIC, Yes, we all just need to scream at Mike, 'ZOEY LOVES YOU!' xD**

**And to CharlieHarperFan88, Hi and welcome! ^-^ Oh, so do I! With a passion, I love Lightning and Ann Maria almost as much as Brick and Jo! I hope I can keep you interested! :D**

**Also to Awesome and I know it, Yeah, I loves me so Nirvana as well :3 Oh no! Dawn is not pregnant! Haha, yeah they're just planning ahead :) Thank you, and yes, poor Jo :(**

**Proceeding to CreepySheepy, I just watched Blainerific, and I died. It had to be one of the funniest things I've seen in my life! XD Oh, okay! I will try to do your 'DVD Fiasco' justice! :) Maybe it's him, and maybe not! We'll just have to see!**

**Continuing on to White Chocolain's Power, Nice new name! :D Oh yes, Mike was rather silly in thinking that, wasn't he? XD Oh my, Candy and Cane are just plain weird! I love Staci as well, and I'm quite depressed that she didn't get much of a part in the series :( I know, I love Lightning and Ann Maria, but you're right! NO ONE can trump Brick and Jo! ^-^ Haha, thank you! XD**

**Also to Spliced-up-Angel, I know, I think that they would still love each other after everything they would go through! :D Oh, and thank you! :)**

**And to Smiles1998, Oh thank you! :') I love the word amazing! :D And don't worry, you'll find out soon enough! Don't hurt yourself too much! ^-^**

**Moving on to Ipink Cornflakes, I love them as well, and I will try to update as frequently as I can! :D**

**Also to Aradomperson, Oh no, it's fine. You don't always have to review! :) I know, I love Brick so much, I'm really glad that he helps most everyone! :D I'm glad that Ann Maria told him how it was xD I know, I think that Jo would call him a woman in real life! Haha! :D I know, and she really wanted to say something sweet, but that just wouldn't be Jo! Haha, Jo was just a bit startled because she didn't want to show him her weak side! Anncing? I like it! All their little love-romance-couple things are too cute! :D I know, but that's what makes Jo, Jo, and she just had to suck it up and move on :) Oh yes, we'll just have to see who likes breaking happy couples up! :P Awww! :3 Thank you!**

**And to TBC, Hi! :D Oh, thank you! ^-^ I love Brick so much, and Dawn and Jo are definitely close behind x) Oh good, I hate writing characters OOC, so thank you for liking it! Thank you, trust me, I squeal every time I write for them, they make me so happy! :D I love Mike and Zoey as well, even though I'm not that big of a fan of Zoey, and I love Lightning and Ann Maria as well :) I love both Dott and Bawn, so I didn't care, as long as it made my readers happy :) I know, I wanted to write her name as 'Anne', but my friend pointed out that it is in fact spelled as 'Ann' and every time I write her name, I write it as 'Anne' and my computer auto-corrects it xD Oh that's okay, I'm a big time eavesdropper! And because I love Nirvana so much, I have to listen to them at least once a day, or I will be a grump for like, the rest of the week! XD And I love 'Heart Shaped Box', but 'All Apologies' is my all time favorite...EVER. Oh thank you! I will try to stay fabulous! :D Hahahaha!**

**Moving on to Mighty Penguin, Hello, and thank you! :D**

**Finally to MagicGoodsGenie, Hi, and welcome! :D Oh, sometimes I hate signing in as well! XD Thank you, I love them as well! :D Thank you, and I can't wait to see how things shake out as well! :)**

**Okay so this_ is _a bit on the dramatic side, but I think you all will be really happy with this chapter! Finally, there are some answers, a relationship is formed, fights break out, and revelations are made! :D But yes, there is drama, but it adds to character development! XD So I hope you all can see past the dramatic parts and still love it! ^-^**

**Now, on to the storyyyyyy!**

**Brick POV**

It had been a whole day since Jo had talked to me, and I was freaking out. Jo was rarely ever mad at me, and when she was, it was ugly. I didn't want her to _not _talk to me, because Jo was too important for me to lose.

"Lemme drive," A voice suddenly demanded. I snapped out of my guilty daze and glanced at Jo who was staring at me intently. Strangely, it made me elated that she was looking at me, even if it _was_ through anger.

"Huh?" I answered, stupidly. For a moment, her hard stare was frightening me, but she then cracked a smile, and I instantly relaxed.

"Lemme drive, Brickhouse," She said gently, "You're hogging up the road," I smiled and pulled over. She took my seat and started the engine back up.

"Hey Jo, can I ask you something?" I asked tentatively. Lately, around Jo, I felt myself becoming nervous. You know, butterflies would cloud my stomach, my hands would become a clammy mess, and my throat would close up, leaving me speechless and above all, just plain nervous.

"Yeah," She shrugged, giving me a side glance.

"Why were you mad at me?" I questioned her, sounding sickly weak. She immediately paled as soon as the question left my mouth, and I hated myself for scaring her.

"I-I wasn't, idiot," She muttered. I furrowed my eyebrows and bit my lip.

"Then why didn't you talk to me for a day? I mean, if you were mad at me, please just tell me, I hate it when you're angry with me," I rambled on, feeling a red tint cover my face completely.

"Don't worry about it, maggot," She muttered, not looking at me.

"Jo, if something is wrong, you know you can always talk to me, right?" I said softly. She didn't answer for a moment. Her intense stare out onto the road before us was worrying me. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but I also knew I had feelings for her that just weren't friend-like. But if I kept trying to break through her impenetrable barriers that she so carefully put up, I'd freak her out even more.

"Jeez G.I. Joke, you really _are_ a woman," She scoffed, her face lightening again. I cracked a small smile at her, and instantly relaxed. She was just being Jo, I had to calm down.

"Jo, Brick, stop driving for a moment! Zoey has an important message on her phone!" Dawn exclaimed suddenly. Jo looked at me, and I supplied her with a simple shrug. She pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the RV. She and I both made our way to the back where we sat in the booth. Mike and Zoey were on the bottom bunk propped up against each other, while Dawn was sitting on the top bunk with B rightfully by her side, and Sam in the lawn chair. Jo and I sat in the booth parallel to the bunk bed, in the same booth.

I felt my face burn as Jo's knee touched mine, and we were so close, her face was in kissing distance. But I couldn't think like that...I mean, even though _I_ would like to kiss her, Jo would be immediately revolted by that. So I kept that to myself and tried to control my blush. Before Dawn spoke, she gave me a small, knowing smile, and that time, I smiled back to show her that I wasn't afraid to let her know.

I like Jo.

"Zoey please tell us your urgent message," Dawn smiled.

"Well, Ann Maria's group is coming to Cedar Point!" Zoey announced, her face dropped for a moment before she continued, "I'm not really sure why, but she, Staci and Lightning are coming!"

"Oh, so why did we need to know that?" Sam asked, looking as puzzled as the rest of us.

"Well, we have received some interesting news from Ann Maria..." Zoey trailed, looking intently at Sam.

"Out with it," Jo urged. It surprised me when her demand came out almost jokingly and Jo's face was decorated with a smile. I didn't know what the girls said to her, but I was elated that Jo had more friends than just me.

"Well Ann Maria talked to Dakota," Zoey paused as Sam visibly paled, "And apparently you both had a miscommunication. Someone stole your phone, and someone hacked into Dakota's Facebook. I mean, that's great, Sam!" Zoey cheered. We all shared a collective look of confusion directed towards an elated looking Sam.

"That means she still loves me, right?" Sam questioned us, excitedly. We all smiled at him and nodded.

"That's awesome, Sam! But, then that means..." Mike trailed sheepishly. Jo rolled her eyes at Mike.

"It means this whole trip was wasted and stupid. It. Was. Pointless," Jo piped up, seemingly annoyed.

"Not quite," Zoey said with a grimace. Dawn's face dropped dramatically at this statement and she immediately looked worried.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Dawn questioned her.

"It means, Dakota's family takes her to Cedar Point every year, and she's not going to be home for three more days, according to Ann Maria," Zoey stated, looking at Sam. He avoided our gaze as we all stared at him in astonishment.

"You never went with your father, did you soldier?" I asked him, sighing a bit. Sam looked up at us, looking terribly guilty.

"No, but I wanted to try to win Dakota back, I mean, I love her more than anything, you know? And I'm sorry for dragging you guys out here just to get her, but she's just not a girl, she's _the_ girl. She's even better than all of my Princess Leiai action figure collector dolls," Sam explained to us.

"Well then, that's all the more reason to get you there!" Dawn declared.

"I would do anything for love...please, we've come so far guys, please just let me go tell her how I feel," Sam pleaded to us for a final time, his eyes thick with sincere tears. B smiled at him and nodded.

"B says he would do the same for me," Dawn said, her face hot with blush, "And I agree,"

"Me too, I mean I also really like this guy, and I would definitely do anything for him! I'm in Sam, I'll stay for you," Zoey concluded.

"Yeah, for that stupid Medical Procedure Doctor," Mike muttered venomously. All of us suppressed a laugh as Zoey looked completely embarrassed.

"Mike, can we not do this now? We're just letting Sam know something really important to him," Zoey whispered hastily to an obviously jealous Mike.

"Why? We all know Brick is gonna say, 'Of course soldier' and Jo is gonna say something like she doesn't want to, but she will anyways and then we'll all smile," Mike snapped, uncharacteristically. We all looked at him with incredulous looks while Zoey's face turned rotten.

"Mike!" She scolded, looking angry with him, "That was really mean!"

"It's fine, sol-" I began, but I stopped, "It's fine," Jo crossed her arms and scowled.

"No, it's not fine, he insulted us both and he didn't even apologize," She said.

"Hey, don't yell at Mike, he's just jealous!" Zoey yelled, trying to defend him.

"I am _not _jealous! And I don't need a _girl_ defending me!" Mike screamed back.

"Don't scream at Zoey, she did nothing wrong!" Dawn pleaded.

"Oh wow, Dawn finally does something besides meditating!" Zoey exclaimed with a sarcastic sneer.

"B says lay off of Dawn!" Dawn shouted.

"Why don't you try speaking for yourself, B?" Jo snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, there goes Jo, making _another_ person's life hard!" Zoey said.

"Jo doesn't make people's lives hard, so don't even think like that!" I piped up angrily, feeling terrible for her. Jo was looking down, refusing to meet anyone's gaze, and I knew she was trying hard not to cry.

"Oh come on, Jo why not say another mean thing?" Mike hissed at her.

"Stop guys!" I shouted, trying to save Jo from her own tears. Before another horrible comment left their mouths, Jo got up and left the RV and stood outside. I sighed and relaxed into the seat as the RV fell completely silent.

"Too far, huh?" Zoey said, sheepishly.

"Yeah, way too far guys. We're all too close to fight like this. We're gonna graduate and go to college, we're going to have kids, and bills, and houses. And we're not going to see each other as often as we want to, this trip is really a special one and we all have to put aside our differences and enjoy it," I looked about them all when I finished my rant before I stepped out of the RV.

"What are you doing out here? Just leave me alone," Jo ordered through her crossed arms when she noticed me. She had propped herself on the side of the RV, her head buried deep into her arms. I sat down next to her and put a hesitant, but comforting arm around her.

"You don't make anyone's life hard," I whispered.

"Yeah right, I know I do, they were just telling the truth. I mean, I just can't be like you, Brickhouse. I just don't like expressing my feelings," Jo explained, her head still hidden.

"You are now," I smiled at her, "Look Jo, that's what makes you Jo, and you can't just try to change yourself because of some of your qualities. I like _you_ Jo, even if you do snap at people, and you don't always express your feelings," Jo lifted her head after a few moments with a small smile playing on her lips.

"You're so stupid," She sniffled.

"Ready to go back in?" I asked.

"Ugh, not yet. Trust me, I'd rather spend the rest of my life with you than them," She muttered. It took her a moment to realize what she had said, and her face turned a bright red as did mine. "I-I-I didn't mean it like that!" She exclaimed, extremely embarrassed.

"Aww, you wanna marry me Jo, that's okay," I teased, grinning like a mad man. She hit my shoulder in dismay.

"Shut up,"

"_Will_ you ever get married?" I questioned her, the mood suddenly turning serious between us. Jo said nothing as she silently contemplated this.

"I really don't know...I mean, I think I really like this guy," She began with a hot face, "But there's no way he would ever feel the same way, so I guess I'll have to see what the future has in store for me," She shrugged, "Hey, no treating me any different, okay?" I smiled and stood up.

"You just wouldn't be Jo if I did," I grinned, extending my hand to her. She gladly took it and stood up.

"Why do you always say that?" She laughed.

"Because, as I said before, I like you just the way you are, and no other way," I finalized, climbing back into the RV.

"Hey Jo, I just wanted to say I'm completely sorry for what I said," Zoey apologized with tears clear in her eyes as soon as we reentered the RV. For a moment, Jo's hard expression worried me, but what she did next surprised me even more than anything else she has done in her life. She stepped towards Zoey and wrapped her into a hug that Zoey immediately melted into. "Oh thank you Jo, I'm just so sorry!" Zoey wailed.

"Zoey, stop crying, because I sense Jo will if you continue...and I will too!" Dawn sobbed. Zoey laughed and sheepishly removed from Jo's embrace.

"Hey, wait!" Mike cried out. We all turned towards him with expectant looks upon our faces, "I have a question that I've been wanting to know for awhile," He stopped before directing his attention to Zoey, "Zoey, what exactly does your user-name mean?" He questioned.

"I heart MPD," She explained simply with a shrug.

"MPD, as in Medical Procedure Doctor, or something else?" Mike interrogated.

"Mike," Zoey began inching towards him.

"Zoey, please tell me what it means," Zoey bit her lip at this request and she shared a look with Dawn who gave her a big grin and an encouraging nod.

"It means I love Multiple Personality Disorder," Zoey breathed, her face a bright, bright red. We all smiled as Mike dissolved into a look of complete and utter happiness.

"So do you love the disorder...or someone who has it?" Mike asked with a smile.

"Don't they want some privacy?" Jo asked me incredulously. I elbowed her to shut up with a slight smile as Mike and Zoey were finally enclosing on their relationship. Zoey chuckled and hugged Mike tightly, in which he gladly accepted.

"I love _you_, Mike," Zoey laughed, pulling away from their embrace.

"I love you too, Zoey," Mike beamed. We all cheered as they finally did what we had been waiting _years_ for them to do. Zoey leaned in and captured Mike's lips with hers before they went in deeper.

"Jeez, we don't want to watch you guys get it on!" Jo shouted.

"Oh Jo, even though your extreme fear of intercourse is endearing, it _is _a natural thing," Dawn pointed out helpfully.

"Don't worry, Jo, so am I," Sam whispered.

"I'm not afraid of..." Jo stopped before continuing on with a disgusted face, "_That_, I just don't particularly jump at the idea of it,"

"Why not? Kids are great, and I want tons of them!" Zoey gushed. Mike paled at this statement of hers.

"How many are _tons_?" He squeaked.

"Just like...one or two," She answered. Mike breathed out and smiled broadly at her.

"Okay, that's good," He laughed, seeming relieved.

"Zoey," Dawn warned, giving her a certain look. Zoey bit her lip before answering again.

"Okay, like six or seven," She answered again looking sheepish towards Mike.

"Six or seven?" He screeched, looking appalled.

"I-I just really like kids," She said, laughing awkwardly. "Hey, Ann Maria messaged me again," We all fell silent as she read the message aloud, "She said, we're at the rest stop leading into Ohio, where are you? So I am saying now...We are head...ing that wayyyy...now!" She finished typing and looked at us.

"What, so do they want us to pick them up?" Sam asked.

"Uh, yeah, actually. Ann Maria says, HELP! Candy and Cane, our ride are insane and are probably psycho killers," Zoey laughed.

"Do we have enough room for them?" I questioned, looking about the small RV.

"It doesn't matter, they are our fellow teenagers in need, and my Mother always tells me to greet everyone with open, and loving arms," Dawn said with a nod to confirm this.

"I guess we can pick them up, then," Zoey smiled.

**General POV**

"Thanks for pickin' us up, guys. Candy and Cane were killin' us," Ann Maria sighed gratefully as they RV pulled away from the rest stop. After they drove for a bit, they pulled over on the side of the road and continued their conversation.

"Yeah, how did you end up hitching a ride?" Jo asked them.

"Lightning said that we shoulda taken his car, but we took Scott's instead. One thing lead to another, Scott got mad, we left and then we were left to hitch a ride," Lightning explained.

"My great great great great great great great great Uncle Joe invented the car, yeah before that people just...well yeah," Staci said, fumbling over her words. They all ignored her as she sat down and continued on with their conversation.

"Well, we're glad you're here, soldiers, but we barely have enough room for us, but having three more people is going to be a tight squeeze," Brick said with a grimace.

"Awww, come on, there's gotta be a way, please," Ann Maria pleaded. She was stumped on why she wasn't blushing madly while she was talking to Brick. Ann Maria liked him a lot, she loved him in fact, but she wasn't nervous...she was doing that with another man.

"Then we're gonna have to have three people on a bed. Let's see...uh, Mike, Sam, and B on the bottom bunk, Dawn, Zoey, and Staci on the top. Ann Maria and Lightning take the booth, and Brickhouse and I have the driver and passenger seat," Jo finalized. She looked about the group to clarify this, and it seemed pretty a-okay with everyone.

"Wait, why you and Brick? Why not someone else?" Ann Maria countered.

"Because, Brick and I are the eligible drivers and we sleep there so that when everyone gets up, we can go immediately. And you know what else?" Jo asked rhetorically, "Because, Brick is my best friend, and frankly, I like being around him and I wanna be around him before he leaves for the army," Jo snapped. The RV quieted as Brick smiled broadly at this statement of Jo's.

"Look, I ain't tryin' to start anythin', no need to get ya panties in a twist," Ann Maria snapped.

"Then why is it such a big deal for Brick and I to sleep in seats, then?" Jo questioned her.

"Ladies, please," Brick pleaded.

"Yeah, Lightning thinks that this whole thing has been blown out of proportion," Lightning said.

"It's a big deal 'cause you're just tryin' to have him all to yaself! _No one _else can be around Brick, no one else can spend time with Brick, because _you_ really don't have any other friends. You might as well just pack him up and ship him to ya house!" Ann Maria exclaimed.

"Ann Maria," Zoey started.

"You're practically in love with him," Ann Maria whispered dejectedly, cutting Zoey off.

Her sentence sat in the air, cutting through most everyone's conscious, but most of all, Zoey, Dawn's, and Jo's. Jo's breath hitched, and a million thoughts cross her mind. _Was_ she in love with Brick? He was her best friend. She obviously had feelings for him, and she found him unconditionally attractive, but it couldn't be as easy as Mike and Zoey. Jo was messed up, she had extreme family problems, and low self-esteem, though she'd never admit it.

But she just couldn't think of a time where she had ever _not_ thought about Brick. Even if they _were_ innocent thoughts, she always asked herself, when was Brick coming home? Would he stay after school to wait for her? Would he sit with her at lunch? How good did Brick do on the test today? She always thought of him, but that didn't mean she was in love with him, right?

Jo just didn't like how serious their relationship was becoming. Or at least, _her _end of it. Brick had a life plan, he was going to enlist in the army. He was going to save their country and protect The United States...and what was Jo going to do? All she was worried about was what she was going to do with Brick. She had become so dependent on him, and she hated how needy she sounded every time they talked about his future.

Brick and Jo had always been together, since they were eleven, after Jo's father left. Brick understood Jo, he really did accept her and she was grateful for that, but she could never tell him. She couldn't leap into his arms and shout, 'I love you!' It was too hard, because she had never said it before, not even to her parents. She was never going to admit her feelings to Brick, no matter how deep they were. He was gonna go to the army and forget about her, and just protect their country, and she was going to work for minimum wage, live in a modest house and disappear from her group's existence. She was going to be nothing, and he was going to make something of himself...that's why she will never be able to be with him.

"Fine, you wanna sit in the passenger seat, go ahead, I really don't care," Jo snapped, pulling everyone abruptly away from their thoughts.

"You know what? That's it, everyone out of the RV, except for the following!" Zoey cried out, "Jo, Dawn, Myself, Ann Maria, and Staci! Everyone else, GET OUT!" Without another word, the guys left the RV and sat outside while the girls stared incredulously at Zoey.

"Zoey, I understand that you might be a bit upset with Ann Maria, but do not do anything you'll regret," Dawn advised taking her seat.

"Fine. Look Ann Maria, everyone in our group has a best friend. Dawn and B, Mike and myself, and Brick and Jo. That's how it's always been and we're not changing it just because you have small feelings for him. We missed graduation to help Sam and we're going to Cedar Point to reunite him and Dakota. This is our last vacation as students and we all want to be together for this. And I'm not gonna let you mess it up anytime soon. So either be with us, or get out," Zoey finished.

"Yeah, I have to say something. Ann Maria, you were being a bully to Jo," Staci informed her, "And my great great great great Aunt Claudia created the anti-bullying program, so I'm going to enforce now. You were bullied once, so you know how bad it feels, so please apologize to Jo,"

Ann Maria looked positively guilty as the emotion washed over her face. She sighed and stepped towards Jo.

"I'm really sorry, Jo. I really don't have feelin's for Brick, I was just grateful for him stickin' up for me ya know? And if ya really _are_ in love with him, well then, I'm happy for ya," Ann Maria apologized, seeming truly sincere.

"Thanks Ann Maria, but I'm not in love with him, so it's fine," Jo said.

"Jo, yes you are! You're lying right now, I can see it, you can't fool me, Jo," Dawn exclaimed.

"I'm not lying, I do not have any love feelings towards Brick, and I never will," Jo declared, missing the angry expression that was appearing on Dawn's face.

"Really? Then why are you so happy every time Brick shows up? Why do you blush when someone mentions his name? Why do you always think about him? Why do you try to forget your feelings when you know perfectly well what they are? Oh, I know, because you're afraid that when he goes off to the army, he's going to forget you and leave you and you'll never hear from him again!" Dawn exclaimed harshly,

"But he won't, because he loves you too, and if you would just for a _second _admit this to yourself, then maybe just _maybe _you can tell him how you feel! Then you won't have to worry about him forgetting about you! Because he won't and do you know why? Because he will know that you love him, and he will have just one sole person to protect! For all the years that I've known you, I've never seen you scared, I've never seen you back down. So I'm telling you right now, don't back down! Face your one true fear, because he won't leave you, he won't cheat on you, and he certainly will never hate you!" Dawn shrieked uncharacteristically.

No one dared to utter a single word. Jo tried to sort through the words and her feelings, and so was another girl. Because for some reason, as they were all standing in the RV, Ann Maria felt the same sort of emotion run through her, but not for Brick. It was for a certain Quarterback named Lightning Johnson.

And that's what scared her.

**A\N Hi! :D So I left ya on a cliff-hanger...sorta xD**

**I hope ya'll liked it! And I'm real sorry for such a late update, I really didn't have much inspiration for this chapter for awhile, but then it hit me and I wrote like crazy and here it is! ^-^**

**As you all know, this story will be coming to a close in the next few chapters and then it shall be done! **

**So, if any of you have requests for one-shots or multi-chapter stories, don't hesitate to ask me, because I'll be happy to do so! Also, I'll write for most everything, so that includes both fanon and cannon pairings, slash (yaoi), fem-slash (yuri), and ABC drabbles :D**

**Okay, so please review and tell me what you think, and thank you for the non-stop love and support! ^-^ I will try to update as soon as I can! :D**

**So keep on keeping on! :)**

_**(This has been a product thing of TheGamesICause. Any person who steals this or copies it with small changes in any way will be written a strongly worded letter with many frowny-faces. The author of this is now putting this at the end of every chapter so that everyone knows she means business. The final draft of this chapter is ten pages and five-thousand, one-hundred and forty-two words long)**_

_**Angels to Fly :)**_


	8. Dream On

**A\N Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July! ^-^ Ahh! Your reviews just make me wanna dance and squeal! Thank you so much, seriously! C:**

**Mkay, review timee! C:**

**So to NTA FANFIC, Oh no! Why are confused? :O That's the last thing I would ever want! :(**

**Also to crabsareamazing14, Hello, and I know! I was so happy when I was writing their little moment, I was all squealy and such ^-^ Hahaha, yeah! You did a perfect portrayal of Dawn right there xD And yes, Jo is very confused about her feelings! I know two people with the last name Johnson and yes, that would be very strange! Oh yes, I don't think I'll _ever_ go hitchhiking because of 'The Hitcher' and of Candy and Cane! XD Oh and thank you, and I'm from the East Coast as well, so I shall give it back...from the East Coast! **

**And to Spliced-up-Angel, Thank you, and I loves me some character development as well! :)**

**Proceeding on to Smiles1998, Thanks! :D And yes, I think we all just need to stay on Dawn's good side for a while! XD**

**Moving on to AgirlWithImagination, Thank you! ^-^ Oh no! :O I would never leave this, I can just never get online because my father does not have internet so I must wait until I can go to the Library where I can get it! :D Oh good, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :) I know, I really hope everything goes fine with everyone and everyone will end up happy! Fear not, for I will never allow poor kittens and pandas and you to cry! :O**

**Continuing on to 2CrzY4U, Don't worry, you are not a bad person! Haha yes, but he gets it now doesn't he? Now that he knows MPD stands for Multiple Personality Disorder xD Oh good, I wanted B to have some sort of part in their argument, but he couldn't say anything, so it was rather hard! XD Oh yes, goodbye Candy and Cane and good riddance! And yes, I can't eat candy anymore, so I was really craving candy when I made up their names! :D **

**Also to SailorMarble14, Hello and thank you! :D I will be happy to put in their memories! You got it! ^0^**

**And to CharlieHarperFan88, Thank you! I love writing cute chapters because then I get all happy and mushy and such :D Ann Maria is still pretty iffy about Lightning only because he used to bully her, and she's getting over her feelings for Brick, but I think you'll be happy pretty soon! :D I will try to do you just by keeping it up! XD**

**Moving on to SkullsandRoses, Oh don't worry! I do intend on staying with this story! I would never abandon it! I love writing for it, so there's no need to worry! :D Oh yes, sweet little Dawn has a dark side! :O Yes, both Ann Maria and Jo are very confused for their own reasons, but like I said, this story is soon coming to a close, so I think their feelings will be acted upon soon! ^0^**

**Proceeding on to Might Penguin, Thank you! I love drama as well! :D Oh my Lordlicious! I inspire you? :'D Thank you so much! That made me extremely happy, thank you! :O No problem, I love giving people shout outs! :D**

**Continuing on to Creepy Sheepy, Thank you! And I love Blainerific so much! XD Okay, well I hope I do the whole movie situation justice! XD So am I! I was so happy when they finally got together! :D Haha!**

**Also to NerdyBarista, It's because Brick cares so much about Jo, and in his own way, he'd be pretty lost without her as well! Mike isn't angry, he was more just frustrated because he thought Zoey liked someone else, and he was going a bit stir-crazy! XD Yes, since Jo does get angry rather easily, she was getting the worst of the stir-craziness! I loved writing their little moment, it was really nice! :D I know! They finally got together, I was so happy! Hahaha, well Jo herself is a very awkward person, so I think that would definitely be something she's _very_ awkward about! XD Yep, I think Ann Maria is just beginning to see her little Brick crush was just because he helped her. Staci stopped talking about her relatives for Ann Maria's sake, because she feels really close to her, not for Jo :P Oh yay, I'm glad Ann Maria's development is good for her overall character! Oh yeah, Jo is very much in denial well at least for being in love with him. She knows she likes him, but not love! And yes, Dawn did good even if she did get a bit scary! XD Haha, I added that in fear of someone stealing my work because I have seen it happen, and it did happen to me once, but I got the person to delete the story! XD **

**And to Aradomperson, Oh yes, a lot, of tension! :D And yes, I loved all the coupling in here! And Zoey _did_ feel pretty terrible afterwards though so I think Jo won't hold that comment on her forever! XD I know, she didn't outright say it, but I think she now knows that her feelings are very, VERY deep! Ever since Jo's talk with Dawn and Zoey, she definitely feels a lot more comfortable with them, so yes the hug was very out of character, but she felt like she needed to show Zoey that she forgave her, and that she appreciates and loves their friendship. Yes, seven chapters, but they are FINALLY together! Woo! ^O^ Jo is being very defensive of her feelings right now because she's very iffy on them. She's not sure how she feels and she hated when Ann Maria thought that she was in love with Brick, when Jo _herself_ doesn't even know. Haha, I think Jo, even if she _was_ comfortable with her feelings would _ever_ be the one to ask Brick out! XD Of course I will continue this story, I love writing for it! :D**

**Also to Guest, Oh no :( Well I'm glad you like it now! So keep reading and I hope you continue to like it ^-^**

**Finally to Amanda, Hello! :) Well, here it is! :D**

**Okay, so here is the story! Sorry for the long wait! :P**

**Jo POV**

After Dawn yelled at me, and Zoey repeatedly apologizing to the guys after inviting them back in, we were on the road again, Brick driving this time. I couldn't seem to sleep because of Dawn's words pounding in my head. She was right, some part of me realized Dawn had never once lied to me. So why now, would she lie about something so important to me?

I finally forced my eyes to shut and just to relax. We would be at Cedar Point before I knew it. I just had to calm down...and sleep...

_Dream-Flashback Sequence_

_My kindergarten class seemed so large to me when I was only five. I guess it must have seemed big to every small child that stepped foot in there. My hair was long, at least to my shoulders. My mother insisted that my father would approve it I left it alone, though back then, I protested against her wishes. I wanted it fixed in pigtails like that of the other girls. _

"_Alright Jo, you'll be a good girl to everyone, right?" My mother asked, leaning down towards me with an overly worried tone to her soprano. _

"_I will! Mommy, can you call me Mary?' I questioned her, as she stood up._

"_You know your father likes to call you Jo, so we call you Jo. It's a nickname, sweetie," She cooed. Before I could insist anymore, she disappeared out of the doorway and left me completely alone and confused. I sighed, my breath wavering before me. _

"_No, please Grandma,I don't wanna go...I'm 'fraid!" A voice exclaimed, breaking me away from my thoughts. I sharply averted my gaze over to a tall boy, well at least taller than me, with an old woman smiling warmly at him. She pat his buzzed cut hair gently and crouched down to him. _

"_Now, now, you know better than to whine. You're brave, right? Just like your daddy, you'll do just fine," She reassured him with a knowing tone. I could tell he was holding in his cries and as soon as she left, he finally let out a chortled breath. I felt my eyes narrow at the direction the old woman exited in, and I slowly made my way to him with a curious expression plastered on my face._

"_Why are you sad?" I asked, feeling unusually concerned for him. I didn't even know him! So why was I so sad for him?_

"_Oh...hi, I'm Brick," He greeted, sniffling a bit._

"_Why are you sad?" I repeated, though it came out more of a demand than anything. _

"_My daddy's in the army, and grandma says he's real brave, and I gotta be, too. But I'm just 'fraid...and I think I'm making daddy sad 'cause I am..." He frowned, tears returning to his eyes. I cocked my head in utter confusion._

"_Why would _he_ be sad?" He looked at me, his eyes now brimmed with hot tears and he hung his head in unneeded shame._

"_'Cause, daddy saves lives everyday, and he's not scared...but I'm going to school and I am," Brick explained. He sat down on the floor, not ready to go in yet and breathed heavily. _

"_My daddy's a bum...or at least that's what Aunt Faith says. You should be happy that you're daddy's brave...'cause now you don't have to have _all _the brave, just some of it," I soothed. I couldn't figure out why I was being so sweet to him. Sure, I wasn't evil, but I wasn't this friendly or soothing. Brick was bringing something out in me that I didn't even know was in me._

"_T-thanks! You're really nice. Can...can we be friends?" He asked cautiously. I bit my lip, it wasn't everyday I was getting a pleading offer to be my friend. _

"_My name's Mary, but I like Jo," I said, extending my hand as I saw my father do countless times before. _

"_Why Jo?" He asked, shaking my hand eagerly. I shrugged, not sure what he wanted to hear._

"_It's smaller for Josephine, my middle name," I explained, removing my hand. My face was flushed with red from the contact and I tried to remove the feeling from my conscious. _

"_Well Jo's nice, but I like Mary more," Brick stated, standing up. _

"_Is Brick small for something, or a nickname?" I questioned._

"_Nope, just Brick," He smiled. I just gave him a nod in return and gestured for him to join me in the classroom. He took a seat near me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the giddy feeling within me. The feeling of utter happiness as Brick had just become my first ever friend. _

_Ending the Dream-Flashback Sequence_

I woke up with a jolt and a light smile upon my features. Even when I was five, I _still_ had feelings for the lunk-head. I looked over at him, and saw his face fixed in pure concentration. He was so intent on everything he did, and he did it for the right reasons. He was sweet and caring about everything he did, and everyone he knew. I really didn't deserve such a sweet guy as my best friend, but he was and I loved every moment of it.

Maybe that was what was scaring me. The fact that when he left, and every other person in our group who I had hesitantly called my friend, left, I would be alone and terribly lost without them. And sure, I was Jo, I was fearless, and brash and strong-headed. I could do things on my own in a heart-beat. And if I had never met Brick, my life decision wouldn't be so hard. But now it was, because I had feelings for my best friend, my best friend who was enlisting into the army and he was going to be gone for only the Lord knows how long. And what if he got shot, and died, died for our country, and I could never see him again?

Dammit, emotional stuff just gets me worn out.

I sighed and leaned my head against the window in hopes of clearing my mind for a few moments of peace. Maybe I was just over thinking all of this. It probably wasn't as bad as it seemed to me. I was just tiring myself out again. I had to stop thinking about all this, we were going to be at Cedar Point in a matter of time, and I couldn't be frigid when I still had a few more days with Brick. I was only fooling myself for all those years I had with Brick. I knew the day would come when Brick and I would have to part, and even if I did confess my feelings for him, his commitment to our country was much more than his commitment to me. I didn't want to be conceited and think that something was going to change and he would stay just because I told him that I loved him.

And I still had to contemplate whether I _did_ love him or not. He really was everything to me, as girly as it sounds, but nevertheless, he got me. He knew what got me angry, what drove me completely nuts, he knew what made me laugh, what movies I preferred, why I will never go to Vegas, he knew anything and everything about me. No one else even came close to how special Brick was to me.

"Jo? Jo?" I heard multiple voices yell.

"What?" I asked.

"We're here!" Zoey squealed, the excitement oozing from every word. I sat up straighter in my seat, before looking out and seeing the many roller-coasters on the horizon, right there in front of me.

"Holy shit, I didn't think..." I mumbled incredulously. They all grinned like mad men and jumped up and down crazily.

"Dakota's here!" Sam exclaimed.

"Then go, Sam! Run and hurry! We'll be right after you!" Dawn encouraged him with a bright smile. Sam nodded and charged towards the door. He ran out, before yelling:

"Dawn, B! I need money!"

"Coming! See you all in a bit! To avoid further complications, here's your money for the tickets! Enjoy yourselves!" She smiled, running with B. To make a very long story short, everyone else besides Brick and myself went to the park.

"So..." I said, lingering near the door.

"Jo, are you okay? You seem confused..." Brick remarked with a worried expression.

"Uh, yeah actually...I kinda am..." l said, chuckling a bit. Brick sat down and gestured for me to as well. We sat down on the bed across from each other, not sure on what to do or say.

"So what's wrong?"

"N-nothing!"

"Jo..."

"It's nothing!"

"_Jo_,"

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders uselessly.

"It's a serious question, so don't laugh at me, okay?" I warned menacingly. Brick just smiled and I realized that if it was anyone else, they would have freaked out, but Brick knew I wouldn't do anything. Why did he have to know me so well? I mean, what if we _were_ together? We know everything there is to know about each other, so what would happen if we got tired of each other? If we got bored with our routine, so we broke up?

"Jo?" Brick questioned me, tearing me away from my worries. I sighed and gulped a bit. I didn't want him to laugh at me...and on normal circumstances, Brick would never. But this time, that could be the exact thing he would do.

"If I asked you to stay and not go to the army, would you?" I asked, feeling stupidly embarrassed. I hated feeling weak, and that had to be the one complete moment in my life where I felt _very _weak and vulnerable. Brick stared at me, before a small smile emerged on his face.

"Yes, of course,"He answered.

I think I must have looked like someone just ate a bunny in front of me, because Brick started laughing hysterically at my shocked face.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" I yelled.

"Yeah, but that wasn't a serious question," Brick explained with a smile.

"It was to me!" I exclaimed with an incredulous look upon my face.

"Why?"

"I don't know...so will you stay, then?" I asked.

"Sure," Brick shrugged lazily.

"Then can I ask you another thing?"

"Shoot,"

"Okay...you love the army, so why would you just stay for me?" I asked.

"So now you don't want me to stay?" Brick asked. I shot him a murderous look and he turned sheepish before putting up his hands in defense. "Because you know I'd do anything for you, Jo," I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, but that can't be it, can it?" I sighed wearily, wanting to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. "I mean, you've always dreamed of going to the army ever since you little. You just wouldn't stay for me,"

_Flashback_

"_Alright, what do you wanna be or do when you grow up?" Our teacher asked. I shot Brick a 'Get me the _hell_ out of here!' look, while he just laughed at me. We were thirteen years old and she was treating us like we were four. "Ah, we'll start with Ann Maria," Ann Maria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hadn't gotten her make-over yet, but she was planning on it. I had liked her better when she was an unmemorable, plain-Jane. She was sweeter that way, or at least, in my opinion. _

"_Oh, okay. Well, I've always wanted to be a supa model, ya know? Be on magazines and pose, and be in crazy outfits..." Ann Maria breathed, earning a couple chuckles from Lightning and Scott. _

"_Yeah, the magazine for the people who wanna go blind!" Scott exclaimed, cracking up at his cruel joke. Ann Maria sank in her seat, feeling stupid for her dream._

"_I'm gonna be a teacher!" Zoey announced smiling broadly._

"_Suck up," I muttered to Brick. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and brushed it off._

"_Scott and Lightning are going to be football players!" Lightning said snootily to everyone around them. No one paid attention mostly because everyone hated them to begin with. _

"_What about you, Jo and Brick?" The teacher asked, barely being heard over the loud teenagers. I shrugged in response._

"_I'm only thirteen, what makes you think I have my whole life planned out, yet?" I said. _

"_My father died four months ago. It stills hurts a lot, but I wanna be like him and go to the army," Brick explained, his eyes glistening with pride, "I wanna protect everyone around me," _

"_You could die though," I protested with a scowl._

"_Yeah, but I'd be protecting everyone here, so who cares if I die?" Brick shrugged. I felt myself growing angry, so I slammed my fist down on my desk._

"_I care!" I yelled, the rage radiating off of me. Everyone stopped and stared at me, so I quickly shut my mouth in fear of embarrassing myself any longer. Brick and I didn't talk about that subject for the rest of the day. _

_Dammit._

_Flashback Over_

And that's when it clicked. Brick, ever since he was little, he wanted to be in the army, because he was selfless and kind. He was brave enough, and he didn't care if he died or not. As long as everyone else was safe. And I couldn't take his dream from him. And I knew that whether if he returned my feelings or not, he would stay if I told him I loved him.

I looked at Brick, at his eyes boring into mine, and I knew it. The thought didn't scare me anymore. I was in love with Brick. He was sweet and funny and pure, but he had a dream, one that if I took it away from him, I'd hate myself forever. I felt tears prick my eyes at this thought. I was completely and hopelessly in love with Brick, but I couldn't let him stay. He had to go, and I had to stay in Delaware and be alone with him by my side.

And I was willing to do that for him.

**A\N So sorry for the lateness, but I REALLY needed to get this out! And yes, it _is _short, but I hope you all liked it just the same!**

**So please review and tell me what you think! And yes, the end is drawing near! **

**Love you all!**

_**(This has been a product thing of TheGamesICause. Any person who steals this or copies it with small changes in any way will be written a strongly worded letter with many frowny-faces. The author of this is now putting this at the end of every chapter so that everyone knows she means business. The final draft of this chapter is seven pages and three thousand words long)**_


	9. You Stole My Heart

**A\N Hello, all! It's great, my father finally got us internet, so I can update faster now! Woo Hoo! :D**

**Also...OH MY LORDLICIOUS! 100 REVIEWS! Oh my gosh, thank you all so much! :') I am so incredibly elated right now, it's seriously ridiculous! I don't think I could have ever gotten 100 reviews EVER, so thank you all so much for the bottom of my heart! And here's a shout-out to crazypopcornlover4ever, for being my 100th reviewer! It took me awhile to realize it while reading your review, until I went back and I felt like an idiot! xD**

**Okay, onto the reviews that I love so much! ^o^**

**So to CharlieHarperFan88, I loved the flashback as well! ^-^ I feel like they'd be really cute as kids. Of course they would support each other with everything. Even if they didn't have feelings for each other, they would still be supportive! :D**

**And to Smiles1998, Oh so am I! And I hate having conflicting feelings such as those! And of course I will update soon because I love this story as well! ^0^**

**Also to SailorMarble14, No problem! I hope you liked their flashbacks! ^-^ Thank you, and of course I will update soon! :D**

**Proceeding onto NTA FANFIC, Because, joining the army isn't Jo's passion as it is Brick's. And Batman is just too busy to save people now :P**

**Continuing onto Nightlock Ink, Oh thank you! I'm so glad you like it! ^-^ Of course I will! You know, I've been so engrossed with Brick and Jo that I almost forgot about all the other couples! Don't worry, more Mike and Zoey on the way! :D I do like the Hunger Games, and I guess I have to say...Peeta! What about you? :P**

**Moving onto Deceive The Rainbow, Oh my Lord, that sounds very awkward, but hilarious! XD In seventh grade, our Health teacher gave us a lesson on STDS, and made us spit in cups to model our "Sexual Relationships" with each other! XD Every year, our teachers ask us what we want to be and it gets _so_ irritating! :P Haha, I feel that Jo would definitely NOT be okay with Brick dying! Oh, you shouldn't dislike your middle name, Josephine is beautiful! :D Oh, I was excited to go to kindergarten! I just told my mom I loved her and I was off! But it was extremely fun to write that scene! ^-^**

**And to 2CrzY4U, Hello again! :D The writers originally named Jo, Mary, so I decided to kinda incorporate that in there, and I made it her first name! Yes, that finally made it to Cedar Point! Woo! :D I know, I can't wait to write for Dakota, she was always one of my favorites on the show :L **

**Also to Spliced-up-Angel, Aww, thank you! :3 I'm glad you think of it as suspenseful! I definitely want more elements to my story than just humor and romance! :D**

**Moving onto CreepySheepy, Thank you so much! :D I love flashbacks as well because I love knowing more about the story and its characters! :) Oh my Lordy, I feel so terrible! I almost forgot about the DVD thing, I will still do it, I am just so sorry! :(**

**Continuing onto MyNameIsAwkward, Oh my gosh, that's so awesome! I live in South Bend, Indiana! :D Well for part of the year, anyways xD I love Brick and Jo as well, and thank you for liking my story! :)**

**Proceeding onto NerdyBarista, Actually, it is the exact reason. Her father wanted a son, and since her middle name is Josephine, he decided to call her Jo. Yeah, that's what I really like about Brick. I feel that he really is the only one that bring out Jo's sensitive side. Yes, Sam will NOT let Dakota go, not under _any_ circumstances! :D Lightning did his fair share of making fun of her, but he did have some feelings for her, so basically he just did it so Scott wouldn't suspect anything :P I guess you'll just have to wait and see what exactly she does! :3**

**Also to Anonymously Awesome, Thank you, and you got it! ^-^**

**And to Mighty Penguin, Yes, I was hoping that chapter was nice and fluffy for everyone! XD Oh no! You really don't have to write a story for me, I'm just happy to make your week by writing this story! :) **

**Next to Aradomperson, I loved writing the last paragraph! Like you said, it was very emotional, so thank you for finding it emotional, that's what I was going for, so thanks! XD Oh yes, I loves me some flashbacks, so thanks again for liking both! It seems that most like the one when their older better because really expresses her underlying feelings for Brick very clearly here. Oh no! I wouldn't want you to not get your sleep, so I will try to be a faster updater! Haha! :)**

**And to puccaxgaru4eva1, I love Jock as well! ^-^ And I'm sorry I take forever to update, but it's out now! XD Don't worry, it's not over yet! :D And thanks for reading, it means a lot! ^-^**

**Finally to Awesome and I know it, Haha oh yes! Lots and lots of drama! And I love drama myself! XD**

**Alright, story time, children! Gather 'round and listen closely, my little ducklings! ^-^**

**Brick POV**

Jo refused to talk to me after she went off into her own world and she just dragged me inside the amusement park instead. But I couldn't focus on anything else except for the gnawing feeling that Jo was keeping something intensely important from me, but I couldn't get mad because I was doing the same. It was nothing important except that I loved her, you know, no biggie. Besides it wasn't like I was gonna tell her anytime soon! My plan was to tell her when we were eighty and old and she didn't care.

Yep, a pretty solid plan.

And it wasn't like I didn't want to tell, because I did, but I knew she'd hit me and tell me never to say that ever again...and that would be that. So I guess I would rather take the path of never telling her my feelings. Besides, I knew that when I went to the army, my feelings would disappear, then I wouldn't torture myself with trying to tell her everyday.

But every time I _did_ lay my eyes upon her, that feeling hit me again, powerfully like a ton of bricks and I just felt weak compared to that feeling. I just had to relax, we were there for Dakota and Sam, to get them back together.

"Brick, come on!" Jo yelled, gesturing me to follow. I nodded and did just that, hoping to get these feelings erased. "They're all over here," I could barely hear her over the commotion of the amusement park. It was loud, and bustling, but overall, exhilarating. Jo and I rounded another corner and found them.

"Hi, soldiers...where's Dakota?" I greeted.

"We're not sure," Dawn said, looking horribly confused, "Usually I could see and sense her aura, but we're in a very crowded vicinity, so I can't even make out one. It's rather hopeless to search for her that way," She sighed deeply and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, today _is_ really hot, she could be in the shade somewhere," Zoey pointed out with a bit of hope.

"Or on a ride, and if she is, that could take hours to find her," Jo replied dejectedly.

"Why can't we just call her?" Mike questioned.

"Her phone's off!" Sam wailed, his glasses fogged with his tears, "What if I never find her and our romance is forever lost and forgotten?!"

"I hate to say this soldier," I grimaced, "But you're kind of overreacting,"

"Exactly,"Zoey reassured with a soothing voice, "You know Dakota loves and cares about you, and she's probably searching everywhere for you as well, you just have to keep looking, and to not lose faith!" Before anything else could be uttered, a squeal of delight escaped from a few blocks away. There, in all, bright pink herself, was Dakota.

"SAMMY!" She gushed, running towards out group with a look of utter elatedness on her face. Sam doubled over in shock before he composed himself and finally enveloped her in a loving and warm embrace.

"Wow, this is like, really nice to watch...speaking of watches," Staci rambled, ruining this touching moment. We all ignored her and continued intensely watching their reunited state.

"Dakota, I missed you so much!" Sam said, with a vast smile. Dakota nodded with unmistakeable tears flooding her eyes.

"I missed you, too, Sammy," She whimpered, "I thought you really broke up with me, and that I was never going to be with you again,"

"Well, let me make this clear, as Yoda as my witness, I love you Dakota, and as long as you'll let me and stuff, I really wanna keep doing that," Sam declared awkwardly. Dakota broke out in a humungous smile and tears.

"I love you too, and I really wanna keep doing that as well!" She laughed. They ended it with a heart-warming kiss, to be brief, and soon Jo and I were left by the fountain. Jo and I were eating in silence, and somehow I felt completely comfortable. Reflecting back on what had just happened with Sam and Dakota, I slowly realized that would never happen with Jo and I. Jo was too afraid of admitting even the slightest of feelings, and for her to openly say she loves me, let alone _anyone_ would be a miracle.

And we all know how scarce miracles are.

I wanted to brush off those feelings, but the more I tried, the more they became evident and overpowering to me. I hated it! It was suffocating and I just needed to forget them, so I wouldn't have to face the rejection and utter heartbreak that would come with it. Jo herself, though, seemed a bit occupied and conflicted. She kept stealing glances my way and was rather distant, but I couldn't think much of it, I just wanted to spend as much time with her as I possibly could, but still, I had to see what was up with her.

"Jo," I finally said as we left another exhilarating roller coaster, "Are you okay, you seem a bit worried," Jo shot me a look before she finally sighed and sat down.

"Don't do that overly-protective crap right now, Brickhouse, I'm not in the mood," She breathed, looking anywhere but me. My gaze turned stern and I sat down next to her.

"That's what I want to know, why you aren't the mood for anything lately. You haven't been talking much to me and you won't even look at me," I explained, my words sounding hurt, "Did I do something wrong?"

"It's nothing," She snapped, arising again. She began walking away to another roller coaster and I stood there, limp.

Dammit, I loved Mary Josephine Hanston, and I was going to let her know that one way or another...if only I could make her stay in one spot, that'd be helpful.

Soon she and I were off again, riding any and every ride their was, but we just didn't talk and I had to know if I was going to confess to her. And what if I kept waiting for the right moment and it never came? And we went back and I went off to the army, and shit.

The army.

Was she mad about that? Was that the wrong answer? Did she still want me to go, even though I made it clear that I would stay if she asked me to?

"I'll still go to the army if you want me to, Jo," I exclaimed. She turned with a smile on her face while she was laughing a bit.

"Why are you saying this so suddenly?" She chuckled. I guess I would never understand Jo, but I grinned a bit.

"Well, I know that you're at me, so I figured that was the reason," I explained.

"I'm not mad," She said, "Or confused," She quickly added, shooting me a look.

"Then why were you refusing to talk to me? Look Jo, I know that things have been a bit weird between us, but I think I have a good explanation for that," I rambled, taking a tentative step towards her.

"We can talk about it some other time...come on," She improvised awkwardly, "The others are probably looking for us,"

"No, we're gonna talk about this now," I declared, setting my foot down for emphasis. She looked at me for a moment before sighing and sat down.

"Look, I really don't feel like hearing a lecture," She began with closed eyes.

"It's not a lecture...more like an explanation..." I interrupted with a wavering voice filled with uncertainty and nervousness. She clammed up and looked at me with expectant eyes. I breathed out, a little unsure on how I would tell her and even more uncertain on how she would take it. Would she laugh in my face, or would she not reply back? It was a little nerve-wracking as she was standing before me, and if I didn't answer her, she'd definitely get angry.

"Brick? We don't have all day," Jo urged, seemingly not angry.

Damn, this was hard! I wish it could be like Mike and Zoey where it was blindingly obvious between the two, or like Sam and Dakota where they just knew as soon as they felt their love for one another, without any unneeded drama (not counting the miscommunication that cost us graduation), or like B and Dawn who were perfectly comfortable with their feelings. Even like Ann Maria and Lightning who definitely weren't close to love, but their feelings were pretty evident. That just wasn't Jo and I, though. So why was I resenting that fact...? Jo and I were different, and that was good, right? Even if she didn't like me back, she still appreciated our friendship, I knew that for sure.

"Well...I love...someone!" I exclaimed, feeling a deep red cover my face. I sighed, knowing I panicked, but I had to keep going with it, "And uh...I don't know if she loves me back..." I finishes sheepishly. Jo just rolled her eyes, seemingly aggravated.

"I don't care if you love a girl," She spat, though this seemed more personal. Usually, she'd finish her snap by glaring at you, but that time she averted her eyes to the ground and refused to look at me again.

"Jo," I started.

"Seriously, I don't care," She said, walking away again, "Go talk to Sam or Mike, I don't give a shit about your love dilemmas," I bit my lip for a second before standing up harshly.

"Even if it's about you?" I challenged, loudly enough for her to hear me. She stopped and turned around with a shocked look on her face, which I was looking for.

"What? You-no, no you can't, it's like, and army stuff, and, no-not you...that's just, and...yeah," She stuttered with utter disbelief. I walked over to her, strangely brave now, now that our roles had switched. Now she was scared and nervous and I was confident and sure. I was going to profess my feeling to Jo and whether she liked it or not, they were real and ready to stay.

"Jo, I love you and so even if you don't love me back, I am letting you know, as a soldier, my feelings are true, and I will not be letting them go anytime soon. I am truly and completely in love you and therefore, no matter if I am rejected here today, I would still be honored to be your best friend as you are and always will be the closest to my heart, even if you did steal it," I concluded with that confession with a small smile. I didn't find myself half as nervous as I thought I would and the feeling was great. And sure, rejection wasn't on the top of my list, but I knew exactly how I felt, and I would always support Jo no matter what she did...and who she loved, even if that lucky person wasn't me.

"Well...whatever!" Jo shouted, her face contorted into confusion, "I don't care,"

"Jo, I just-"

"Yeah, I know what you did, and I don't give a shit. Why don't you just go to the army already, you're seriously starting to get on my last nerve," J o said angrily. I knew something was going on with her, Jo was mean, but never this deliberate.

"Jo, please stop lying," I said, sitting down and patting the spot next to me. Jo was hesitant at first, her pride getting the better of her, but soon she put that away and sat next to me, seeming all sorts of awkward.

"I thought maybe if I hurt you, you could forget about me," She finally admitted with a slight chuckle after quite awhile of uncomfortable silence.

"Not to sound mushy, but you know I could never forget you, Jo," I said softly.

"You'll always sound mushy...you're more of a girl than I am," She joked, her voice softer and more vulnerable than usual. It was a nice touch on Jo. Her rough attitude was part of her charm, but it was nice to see a bit of a sweeter side to her. Which just made her even more beautiful and perfect to me.

"I have to ask though..." I trailed, "Do you have any romantic link towards me whatsoever?" I questioned, the faintest of fear I me.

"I don't think I can say it outright...at least right now...but I feel exactly the same...down to every last word," She confessed with a small smile, "But if we do feel this way, I'm not gonna be girly and sweet and say those words every three seconds," She warned.

"I don't care if you ever say it, Jo," I breathed with a humongous smile upon my face, "Just knowing that you _do_ feel the same makes me the happiest guy around,"

"So does that make us boyfriend and girlfriend, then?" Jo shyly asked, after a few minutes. I smiled widely and nodded my head vigorously.

"Yep!" I answered gleefully. "We can go as slow as you want and need to, too," I added, making sure she knew how elated I was just to _say_ she was my girlfriend.

"Jeez, I'm not a grandma," She snapped, "But thanks," I just smiled and stood up, watching the sun slowly makes it's descent. Jo stood up with me and stretched for a minute before she checked her watch.

"Hey, we need to go to the hotel, I think we're all meeting there at nine, and it's already eight-thirty," Jo informed me. I nodded quickly and practically pranced with glee back to the hotel. Now all that was left was to make a life-changing, important decision, that now, as Jo as my girlfriend, I would never make without her.

Was I or was I not going to the army?

**A\N It pains me, right down to the core to say this, but...next chapter will be the last :'( I don't even wanna think about that now! This story is my baby and I really have come to love every one of these characters...besides Scott, of course! :P**

**But more of that later!**

**Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter and I will really try to hurry up with the next one! And I just have to say again, thank you all so much for bringing me to one hundred lovely and amazing reviews! They all mean so much to me, and I really can't express how happy I am to have made this story and for all of you to have read it! :D**

**Anyways, I am up for suggestions, I am working really hard on one for CharlieHarperFan88, but I am willing to take more! ^-^**

**It's now, 4:52 in the morning! I am tired, so I'm heading off to bed! XD**

**Good night, and please review and tell me what you think! ^-^**

_**(This has been a product thing of TheGamesICause. Any person who steals this or copies it with small changes in any way will be written a strongly worded letter with many frowny-faces. The author of this is now putting this at the end of every chapter so that everyone knows she means business. The final draft of this chapter is seven pages and roughly three thousand, five hundred and twenty-two words long...hee hee I'm accurate!)**_

_**Cold Coffee :)**_


	10. Forever

**A\N Hi there, everyone! :D So yes...this is the dreaded last chapter :( Now before I literally start crying, I'll save our final goodbyes for after this chapter so we can keep this happy! :D**

**I'm going to be perfectly honest, many of you probably won't like this ending, but I knew that this was how I was going to end it before I actually started writing it xD When you finish, I think you'll have a better idea on why I had to do what was done! :P Also this is more of like an epilogue mixed with an actual chapter xD**

**So to CreepySheepy, I know, I am overjoyed with their relationship! :D (Swoons) I don't want to end it either, but alas, all things end at some point :( And thank you :D**

**Also to Spliced-up-Angel, Oh thank you! :) I loved writing Sam and Dakota reuniting! It was so cute :D**

**And to Smiles1998, Thank you, I'm going to miss it dearly as well :'( **

**Moving onto Nightlock Ink, Oh my gosh, that made me laugh xD Haha, well then get ready to send an angry PM, because this is the end :'( Peeta is awesome, isn't he? Um, I'm not sure who Finnick is xD**

**Continuing onto Deceive the Rainbow, Haha, well I think you're the only person on the face of the Earth that likes him! XD Exactly! Even if Jo can't say what she feels, she still _knows_ what she feels! :D**

**Proceeding onto Awesome and I know It, I love awkward situations :D ...As long as I'm not in them xD**

**Next to 2CrzY4U, I know :( I don't want this story to end! :'( Yay! It took them nine chapters to find them! And I guess Jo needed a moment or two to comprehend what exactly he said. No one has ever said I love you to her, and she's never said it to anyone, so she was mostly trying to get him to take it back and forget about her, because he was going to the army, so she assumed he forget about her :P**

**Also to NerdyBarista, I loved Brick's feelings, they always make me so happy! ^-^ You'll see soon enough! :D Oh good, I'm glad you got what I was trying to do with Jo deliberately making Brick feel rejected :D And yes, I liked that role reversal as well :)**

**Moving onto crazypopcornlover4ever, Haha, don't worry, there will be lots of kissing in this! :D Haha, I tend to stay up really late during the summer as well :D Awwe, thank you for the pie, I will eat it happily! :3**

**Also to SailorMarble14, Oh yes, I definitely will, once I get an idea! :D**

**And to CharlieHarperFan88, Oh good! I'm glad you liked their reunion! :D Oh wow, that's so nice, thank you, seriously! :)**

**Finally to Mighty Penguin, Haha, yes! Lots of drama! :D Oh really? That's so great! Thank you so much! :')**

**Well, here it is! The final chapter...enjoy :) **

**Jo POV (20 Years Later)**

My life has been filled with so much shit, I felt sometimes like I had no outlet...but I finally did. I finally found people who have accepted me with wide arms and let me be one of their own. There's a lot of things I could start off by saying since the last time I actually wrote something. Ever since that road-trip we all took, I hadn't kept up. But I guess that's okay since I can safely say that Dakota's Facebook was hacked, and Sam's phone wasn't stolen, that I would have never of had all the friends I did...and I would have never of had Brick in the way that I did.

Anyways, more of that later. I guess I'll start, while I have time, in the principal's office right after the said road-trip.

Well, here it is...

_~Flashback~_

"_Do you all think you're special?!" Our principal, Mr. Right cried, his face a deep red. All eleven of us tried to hold in our laughs at the absurdity of the matter. "I hope you know that since you all missed graduation, you literally cannot graduate!"_

"_Now Mr. Right," Dawn started with a soft voice, "We were trying to help our friend," _

"_I don't care! You skipped graduation! I could have you all expelled and not be able to take another year, but I'm being nice about it!" He continued, his face contorting into such anger, matching his screaming manner. After several more minutes, Dakota finally stood up with a smile._

"_Okay, we've all heard you, now let me tell you something," Dakota began, "My daddy is the superintendent of this place. He provides you with money for books, offices, appliances, and, he can and _will_ take all of that away if you do this to us," Dakota said with a devious smile._

"_But, but-" Mr. Right sputtered helplessly._

"_You see, my daddy's a _very _understanding man, so he wouldn't mind that all my friends and I missed graduation, so unless you want to be floundering in debt without books, and Air Conditioning, I suggest you give us our diplomas. Oh, don't try to get anyone else to support this school either. My daddy can easily take _any _supplier who might wanna help away," Dakota sat down with a grin on Sam's lap, who was smiling like an idiot. _

_The principal begrudgingly gave us our diplomas shortly after this and told us to get the hell out of his office._

"_Oh my gosh, we graduated, guys!" Zoey gushed with disbelief. _

"_Yeah, my great great Uncle Calvin invented graduation, before that people stayed in high school forever," Staci informed us. We all entered a near-by coffee-shop and sat down to catch our excited and chortled breaths._

"_So, what are we gonna do guys?" Ann Maria questioned us. No one seemed to ponder this for a moment except for me...were they all so certain of their futures? Usually I was the sure one, but that time...I still, had no idea._

"_Well, I've decided I'm going to wait a year to gather up some money, and apply to Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania," Zoey announced, "Mike's coming with me there where he's going to go to medical school,"_

"_I thought with your MPD you couldn't," I piped up. _

"_I know, but, I've always wanted to be a doctor, it's my dream. So, I'm going for it," Mike declared with a supportive smile and kiss from Zoey. They entwined their hands together and Zoey leaned onto him slightly. The exact portrait of love was sitting right in front of me. I glanced over at Brick who was beaming for Mike and I wished I could do that. I knew how much he meant to me...and if I could just do that for him, well then, I would be worthy of being his girlfriend._

_Or at least that's what I thought._

"_B is going after his father and being a miner, while I am going to work for many charitable organizations and picking up Earth-friendly jobs to support us as well," Dawn explained, patting B on his arm._

"_Oh, so you two are finally a couple?" Dakota asked with an excited smile._

"_Yes, we have been for quite some time now," Dawn answered, returning the smile. _

"_Lightning's playing professional football! Lightning didn't tell you guys, but a scout came and I got a scholarship!" Lightning explained with a triumphant look upon his face._

"_Right now, just like my great great great Aunt Mildred, I'm going to be a nurse's aid," Staci said. Ann Maria gave her a grin while she explained her plans of being a stylist for models. Sam and Dakota announced their plans as well, saying Dakota was to be a model for a very high magazine agency, and Sam was to be a video-game-designer's consultant._

_'What about you, Jo?" Sam asked, "I mean, we all know that Brick's going to the army, so what are you doing?" All eyes were on me and I had no idea on what to say. I still had no idea, I mean, I was probably just going to sit and wait for Brick, getting a job here or there. But I couldn't tell them that, they'd think I was lame or desperate, so instead I took the easy way out._

"_I don't know yet, guys, just lay off alright?" I snapped defensively. No one asked anymore of me and I was glad, because I don't think I could have given them an answer._

_~Flashback~_

Being eighteen seems so long ago, especially after everything I've been through. Every gratifying and heart-breaking moment. Soon, I'll be going to Zoey and Mike's annual get togethers they have every few years or so. I have to wait until the kids come home from school, though.

Ah, the kids, I should explain.

I have three now, the first two are twins at the oh-so-wonderful age of thirteen, and then there's just one more after. Trust me, pregnancy was scary for me. And not because I was worried for my health, but more for the fact that I was afraid that my kid wasn't going to like me, that I was going to be too harsh and they would want nothing to do with me. Brick reassured me though, that everything was going to be fine, that our kid was going to love me just as much as he did.

And that's what got me through it all.

Luke is my only boy, and he looks just like me. Except for his anatomy, there is absolutely no hint of Brick in him whatsoever. His hair is a bit shaggy, falling right below his ears, and he's fairly tall for his age of only eleven. He has my personality as well, which makes me pretty flattered, but he and Brick were still insanely close, so that's got me thinking that maybe he'll end up like his dear old dad someday.

May, our other twin, looks just a bit more like Brick than Luke does. Her hair is a dirty blonde like mine, but she has his dark, coal eyes and moral code personality. She's a bit shorter than Luke and myself, but she is so determined and driven that she doesn't care.

Finally, Marilyn, our last child is pretty young, but she is looks a bit like both of us. She has Brick's dark hair, but my violet eyes and standoffish personality, though she does have a strong sense for others just like Brick. Then again, I can't really evaluate her personality just yet since she _is _only eight.

And yes, raising children _has_ been hard, and will be for the years to come, but I can't wait for them. You know, it's kinda funny since it feels like only yesterday Brick and I were at the airport as he was about to leave for the army and I'm here rattling on about our kids.

_~Flashback...again~_

_Today was that dreaded day that I had to say goodbye to Brick for I didn't know how long. Maybe a couple of weeks, months, a year, or worse...forever. I shook the thought from my head as I diligently followed Brick through each and everything until we finally reached his gate. He set down his back and gave me a curious look._

"_You know, you've been really quiet this entire time," He remarked. _

"_Have not!" I insisted, with an embarrassed look upon my face. Brick just supplied me with a simple smile in return, while his arms were up in the air in defense._

"_Okay," He checked the time before looking back at me, where I was trying my best not to freak out. I couldn't figure out how he was so calm about this. He was leaving the country in constant danger of being killed and he expected me, his girlfriend, to be okay with it. _

"_I don't want you to die," I growled to the floor. He swiveled on his right foot and looked at me with an incredulous look on his face, "Everyday I'm going to be at home in Delaware waiting for you to come home, or waiting for a phone call telling me you died. Sorry if I'm not very enthusiastic about this," I finished with a slight grumble. Brick gave me a small smile and a shrug._

"_People need help, and I want to give some of that to them," He explained, "But I told you, if you don't want me to go, just say the word, and I won't,"_

_Dammit, I hated it when he said that, because that meant I _couldn't _say the word. It was Brick's dream, his passion, and even though my life plan is spending the rest of my life with him, it also has to include him living his dream in protecting others. So ultimately, I had to let him go, or I would be even more selfish that I had once thought I was. _

"_Hey," I finally said after some silence, "Where are all your dog tags?" Brick looked down to his surprisingly bare neck and looked up again._

"_I gave them back to Sam, Mike, and Zoey,"_

"_Why?"_

"_So they know who's fighting for them," Brick grinned proudly. I nodded before my face turned into one of confusion. _

"_Wait, then where's mine?" I asked. Brick pulled it out of his pocket and held it in his hand, grasping it tightly with a smile._

"_Right here,"_

"_Well give it to me," I demanded. _

"_I can't," He answered with a slight frown. I sighed and looked at him wearily._

"_And why not?" I questioned impatiently._

"_Because I have to be reminded on who I'm fighting for," He replied, knowing it would get me flustered. My face turned a bright red, I thought I was going to die. _

"_Stupid Brick," I muttered,my face and embarrassment still hot. _

"_Are you gonna miss me?" He questioned me, seriously. I looked up at his eyes boring into mine and I averted my eyes to the ground. Even though I had a boyfriend, I still wasn't used to all this girly stuff like Zoey, Dakota, and Dawn were._

"_What kind of question is that?" I mumbled to the ground. _

"_The important kind that I want to know that answer to," Brick said, his face pretty unreadable. I thought the question itself was pretty ridiculous. Didn't he know by now what my answer would be, dating or not?_

"_How could you think I wouldn't miss you?" I scoffed, feeling like such a girl. _

"_I know you would, I just wanted to hear you say it," He teased with a smug smile. I bit my lip to keep from yelling at him in front of everyone. They started to get ready to board the A group. My heart started pounding at the realization that Brick was actually leaving, and I couldn't wake up and see him every morning, with his stupid alarm clock going off, and his bright smile greeting me. It was really happening, he was going to leave me. _

"_Well," He said, after a few more moments, "I'm going to miss you, too," My breath hitched for a moment, and I had a pretty good idea on why he wanted to hear me say it. It was an amazing feeling, knowing that someone who you loved was going to miss you as much as you were going to miss them._

"_Did you have any second thoughts?" I asked. Brick nodded his head vigorously._

"_Yes, many when we were at Cedar Point. I mean, we had just gotten together, and I didn't want to leave you yet, but it's my dream, and I've always wanted to protect everyone. So for awhile I was fighting with myself, because you know, I didn't wanna leave you, but then I realized, that you're the main reason that I am fighting so yeah, that's why I'm here," He finished with a smile._

"_You're such a girl with your feelings," I replied, my face reddened. _

"_Well someone is this relationship has to be," Brick smiled. _

"_Is that what we're calling it, a relationship?" I asked aloud. I couldn't seem to figure out if that was the right word. We didn't hug, or hold hands, or cuddle...we hadn't even kissed yet. So were we _really_ a couple?_

"_You don't think of it like that?" Brick said, offended. _

"_I guess not, I mean, we just act the way we did before except now we have labels," I explained. _

"_Jo, you know I love you, right?" He asked. I nodded my head vigorously afterwards, "And you love me back, right?"_

"_Yeah..." I trailed awkwardly with a hesitant nod._

"_Then it's a relationship. I know you're not ready to hug and kiss and cuddle yet, and it's fine. So I'll wait," I sighed, deeply hating how kind he was. Group A started boarding the plane, and Brick grabbed his bags. _

"_What group are you?" I asked._

"_Group C, but I just wanna get ready,"_

"_So do I," I breathed out, feeling more and more anxious. Brick put a reassuring hand on my shoulder to calm me down._

"_Jo, I really don't have to go," Brick started again, his face sympathetic. I twisted and untwisted my sweaty, shaking hands and averted my eyes every which way but straight forward. _

"_Are you scared?"_

"_What?"_

"_Are you scared?" I questioned again, with a bit of a snap._

"_Terrified," He responded. Group B started to board the plane and Brick headed towards the entrance. He stood a bit away from the other passengers until it was time for his departure. "Well this is it, I'm really going," He breathed._

"_It's gonna be weird without you," _

"_I know, but I promise I'll write to you everyday," Brick smiled._

"_And your grandma," I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Brick didn't smile, except for look at me with a thoughtful look upon his face._

"_This is really going to be hard without you," He said. I felt my eyes drop. I felt that burning sensation again and I tried my hardest not to cry._

"_I don't wanna do all that mushy stuff," I said with a look of distaste. Brick slightly smiled at this and I tried to return it. I wasn't sure on who's end it was gonna be harder for. Leaving all you know behind and going to be in danger everyday, or being left behind by the one, and the only one that you love?_

"_Aww, come on," He cooed, "Mushy stuff never hurt anyone,"_

"_You're almost up," I informed him with a grimace. He looked over and saw very end of Group B boarding the plane. Brick nodded slightly, looking really conflicted. _

"_Jo, may I at least do one thing before I leave?" He asked, almost...shyly? I nodded hesitantly afraid that he was planning on performing a song and dance routine. But it was definitely a lot more surprising than that. He grabbed me by the shoulders and hugged me. And sure, we've hugged each other before, but those were innocent, meaningless hugs. This one was just full of love, I guess you could say. My body moulded perfectly into his, and I have to say, it was the best damn hug in all of history. He pulled back quicker than I wanted him to as he smiled sheepishly._

"_Sorry, I just really wanted to do that before I leave," I bit my lip and reversed the action and made him hug me again. I felt terrible that he was giving me all his love and I could barely give a hug. Dammit, I wished it could have been easier for me, so that I could tell him so easily all my feelings, and maybe if I pushed myself I could, but at that moment, I was just sincerely focused on that hug._

"_So did I," I said. Brick noticed Group C starting to board and breathed in deeply, looking just as nervous as I felt, "You're gonna be fine. You're gonna save a ton of lives and everyone's gonna be really proud of you," I reassured him, trying to calm him._

"_I thought you were against all of this?" He chuckled. But I didn't give him an answer. I couldn't, really. I was focused solely on that fact that if I didn't tell him exactly how I felt, I was going to hate myself. He was, as girly as this sounds, my soul-mate, my other half, basically, and I knew that there was a huge possibility he could die the minute he gets out there. So I had to tell him, or I'd hate myself so much._

"_I love you," I finally said suddenly. Brick perked up with a huge smile on his face that just made me want to punch him out of my embarrassment._

"_Really?"_

"_Well you already knew that," I muttered, trying not to die._

"_But you never said it before!" He exclaimed._

"_Well I did now!"_

"_I know, I'm really happy!"_

"_What, just because I said it?" I snapped. _

"_Well yeah!" _

"_Group C's boarding," I informed him weakly, feeling weak to my stomach. Brick visibly paled and nodded._

"_Alright, come here," Brick said. Once again, he enveloped me into a hug and really embraced me you could say. "I love you too, Jo and I'm really going to miss you," He started to leave to board the plane before I suddenly felt like an idiot._

"_Wait!" I called out. I walked over to him and pressed my lips to his. Sure, I had never done it before, and I was seventy-five percent sure I was doing it wrong, but the other twenty-five percent knew that all of my love and fear was in it, so I guess it didn't matter if it sucked. _

"_Thanks," He smiled. I rolled my eyes and he kissed me again, a soft, but purely loving kiss and left. And little did I know I wasn't going to see him for two more years._

_~Flashback over...again~_

Through these past twenty years, Brick has been in and out of my life. At times, it was the hardest thing, to have him there one day, and then have him leave again. But for the most part, I'm just really happy on how much he's accomplished.

We got married when we were twenty-three years old. I remember, Brick was a lot more enthusiastic about me wearing a white dress than I was, but he got me to do it. Our honeymoon was in Vegas, as a joke from Brick, which I kicked his ass for it later.

But it was really the greatest time of my life. Zoey was my maid of honor, and of course, she cried and planned out my entire wedding. I was happy myself, though. I had so many friends at my wedding to celebrate Brick and I's love. When I was younger, I never got what the big deal was about weddings, but when it was mine, I knew exactly what all the hype was about.

Mike and Zoey got married soon after us and had a kid directly after. Her name's Violet Shae, but after Vi, they found out they couldn't conceive anymore children. To say they were heart-broken would be an understatement. True to their word though, they moved to Pennsylvania, and Zoey became a fourth grade school teacher. Mike, however, couldn't become a doctor, so he became a pharmacist where he can safely take his medication while giving others, theirs.

Dawn and B never got married because as Dawn stated for them, they don't believe in marriage. B went against his dream of being a mechanic and became a miner after his mother died. They hit a major bump in their relationship when B fell into a coma after a mining accident. He didn't wake up after a year, and was completely confused onto who and where he was. He suffered slight amnesia for about two months before he finally remembered who Dawn and all of us were completely. They have four children, Starlight, Rosaisha, Luna, and Mars. Of course, besides looks, they all have boundless amounts of energy and are extremely talkative. But I have to hand it to the man, B has never spoken one word to a soul.

Dakota and Sam eventually fizzled out as a couple about two years after we had gotten them together. Sam found out that it was Scott who had taken his phone and hacked into Dakota's Facebook, and was outraged. Dakota, on the other hand, thought it was sweet and so she did nothing. From there, they were unhappy, so Sam finally left and became a video-game-designer in San Diego. Dakota became a model, not as successfully as she wanted, but it was enough. Neither of them had found anyone else, so they decided to give their relationship another go. They are now married, but have agreed to not have any kids as they never really wanted any.

Lightning and Ann Maria dated for three years before finally getting married. Ann Maria has dropped most of her make-up to be a better role-model to her daughter and son telling them to be whoever they want to be. Their daughter's name is Wendy Jean, after Lightning's mother, and their son is Lincoln James, after Ann Maria's father. They're now living in Chicago where Lightning is a wide-receiver for the Chicago Bears. Ann Maria instead of being a stylist actually became a 5'5" and shorter model. Lightning had to end his career short though, after he dislocated several things and busted his knee more times than he can count.

Staci, even though she so annoyingly went on and on about her relatives, forgot to mention that they had a long line of diabetes. Staci right now is touring the world as a motivational speaker as long as she can. The doctor give her at least until the age of fifty before she'll have a heart attack or much worse. At first, she was horrified, but then she said, "My great great great Uncle Gale invented bravery, yeah, before that everyone was scared of everything,"

Now, I wish I could say I could end this by saying it ends with a great, happy fun ending, but it doesn't. Not every story does, and they never will.

Three years ago, Brick was killed in the war.

At first, I couldn't believe it, but it was real. Brick was gone, the love of my life, the man that made me complete was...gone. It never really sunk in until the twin's tenth birthday and I looked around for Brick's elated face to be there with me and sing to them, but he wasn't, and he never would be again. It took me a couple of months before I could finally ask what happened to him. He saved a woman and her daughter from a line of fire and led them to safety, and he would have been save if he hadn't of dropped my dog tag. He went back and grabbed it but it was too late.

Dammit Brick, he could have lived if it weren't for that damn dog tag.

They gave me that dog tag, saying he was clutching it when he died. So now I wear it everyday with another one on my neck with his name on it. Some days I can't bear to think about his disappearance, and other days it's okay to think about it. Now, I just have my memories to tell the kids and for me to remember him by.

Sometimes I regret not saying "I love you" enough, or showing him I cared. Maybe he knew, but I never feel like I did enough. I guess now I can safely say that Brick did change my life, not just by us realizing our feelings with that road-trip, but because he was always with me, and never gave up on me, or stopped believing in me. Saying I am a completely different person would be insane since I'm still mean old Jo...but he helped me become better and I can't thank him enough for that.

I think this will be that last time I write, because I don't think I need it. I know kids, that when you're older you'll get why I needed to write it. But now, I know that life is gonna be tough without Brick to guide me through with his loving smile and warm personality, but I'll get through it.

Sometimes, though, when I meet new people, I often forget what Brick taught me. When they ask me for my name, I often find the name "Mary" stuck in my throat. I think, "Wow, if I say Mary, I could get rid of my past, my parents, my shame of having to hide my true name" but then a certain memory hits me, so I just say, "Call me Jo" and I have no regrets of that.

"_Hey Brick," I called out suddenly. A ten year old Brick turned around in his seat to face me. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Why don't you call me Mary? I mean, I know I asked you to, but don't you ever feel the urge to call me that?" I asked. Brick just shrugged and smiled like it was not big deal. _

"_Because, you just wouldn't be Jo if I called you that,"_

And I wouldn't.

I love you Brick,

Thank you.

**A\N So there it is! :( The final chapter! Wow, I know it took me awhile, but I couldn't seem to get the final chapter right! XD**

**Anyways, I think Brick needed to die because it really just shows how much Jo grew up and matured and how much Brick helped her in that sense. :P**

**Also, since there will not be another chapter, at the end of the review, only if you want, put BUNNIES at the end of it, and I will PM you and respond to your review, but only if you want. **

**Okay, now onto the sad stuff :\ I am really going to miss writing this story so much. I really became attached to this wonderful cast of characters, and I'm going to miss them like crazy :P**

**Now thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted :D**

**NTA FANFIC**

**Spliced-up-Angel**

**AradomPerson**

**SomeDude**

**CreepySheepy**

**AgirlWithImagination**

**NerdyBarista**

**2CrzY4U**

**randompandaattack**

**malzi21**

**SkullsandRoses**

**Smiles1998**

**crazypopcornlover4ever**

**Fprmr1**

**Awesome and I know it**

**Walleye26**

**Wacky Cool Parrot**

**MyNameIsAwkward**

**Deceive The Rainbow**

**Ipink Cornflakes**

**CharlieHarperFan88**

**MagicGoodsGenie**

**TBC**

**Mighty Penguin**

**SailorMarble14**

**Amanda**

**Nightlock Ink**

**Total Drama Rocks**

**Anonymously Awesome**

**and **

**puccaxgaru4eva1**

**Thank you all for making this such a wonderful experience! I have had so much fun writing this, and I really hate that it's done, but I'm am so proud of this story, and thank you to all who have become a part of it with me :D I can't thank you all enough!**

**I love you all! ^0^**

**~TheGamesICause~**


End file.
